


De Novo

by MagiQueen



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Leverage, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: And he gets so many, BAMF Stephen Strange, BAMF Tony Stark, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 1, Civil War Team Iron Man, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Tony Stark, Leverage crossover is only slight tho, M/M, Stephen Strange being awesome, The crew shows up and Tony is impressed, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, not SHIELD friendly, not team Cap friendly, will add tags as I go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27759424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagiQueen/pseuds/MagiQueen
Summary: After dying in the icy confines of Siberia, Tony wakes up, still dying from the hole in his chest. Then, he meets a wizard, saves the world, changes some things and works to make sure his nightmarish future doesn't become reality again.
Relationships: Friday & Stephen Strange, Friday & Tony Stark, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) & Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 346
Kudos: 1386
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts, tony stark & soul travel





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because there can never be enough Tony Stark time travel fix-its.
> 
> De Novo is a latin word, literally from new, meaning over again from the beginning.

Siberia was really really cold, he thought bitterly as the cold started to seep in. After 8 hours of this freezing hellhole, he was ready to die. His fingers would be the first to go, he knew that. Frostbite was already starting to creep in to the tips. Even if he lived, it wouldn’t be the same, he would lose his fingers, he’d lose his ability to tinker and create, he’d lose everything. Sure, there was always extremis, he had stabilized it and it could help him, but he had enough of superhumans and superpowers now.

He was pretty angry, the first couple of hours. He had thought he’d had his fair share of betrayals in his life, he thought all that was in the past, he thought he could trust his teammates not to cause him this much pain. _Sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things_ rang bitterly in his head. He never would have thought that the legendary, the virtuous, the good Captain America would be so hypocritical. His dad, Howard, had thought the world of him, had thought that there was no man greater than Steve Rogers. He laughed bitterly.

Now though, he just wanted to die. He just wanted to stop living this torturous life, constantly going from one tragedy to another. Everything hurt, the betrayal of his teammates, the betrayal of Captain America physically painful in his frail, human body. And on top of that having to relive the most painful time of his life. Everything hurt. He just wanted it to stop, he just wanted everything to go away. He just wanted to die in this frozen wasteland.

His eyes were getting blurry, closing without his input. He thought he caught a glimpse of red as they fluttered shut as he felt himself go. His life, all the mistakes he’d had, all the good he’d tried to accomplish just to end up in a frozen wasteland to die. Life would go on without him, the world would run as it always had. He wouldn’t be anything but a speck, just one human who’d tried to do some good in his pitiful life and failed publicly and rather spectacularly.

He could faintly hear someone in there with him, hear the swish of clothes and frantic footsteps but he didn’t open his eyes. He doubted anyone was here, in this Russian Hydra base, to help him. Whoever was here was too late anyways. Everything was so numb and cold. He was dying and he was going to die here. It was pointless to try to save him.

* * *

He opened his eyes and found himself in a similar condition, similar yet undeniably different. Lying on the floor of his lab with a wide gaping hole in his chest, he stilled. He couldn’t move, the hole in his chest so empty, so painful, the shrapnels already doing damage to his heart. He suppose it made a morbid sort of sense, reliving his worst hits as he died. Reliving the betrayal that still hurt, even all those years later, amidst another one.

The mechanical hums of DUM-E as he lowered the arc reactor towards him startled him. _Proof that Tony Stark has a heart_ , he smiled albeit bitterly and tried not to think about a shield smashing another arc reactor. He’d thought this was just a memory, a your life flashing before you as you die sort of situation, but this felt undeniably real, it hurt like it was a real thing. The arc reactor jutted out of his chest in a way it hadn’t for a long time now, the pain cementing this awful awful not-memory. He grabbed the glass casing and smashed it on the ground.

Rhodey was there, he was walking, he was walking towards him, concern lined in his face. Pepper, he thought, Stane was going to hurt Pepper and he said exactly that. Rhodey confirmed what he already knew, what he had said so long ago. He spur into action. The nightmarish reality continued as it had last time. He was just going through the motions, he realized, during the fight, he was doing everything he’d done in the exact way he’d done it. His brain was still processing things, a part of him still felt stuck in the cold confines of Siberia, slowly being frozen to death. All of him felt the same hurt he’d been feeling for a long time, of Stane, of Rogers, of everyone.

As the Iron Monger peered closer to the freeway, he started to panic. Flashes of Bucharest started to fill in with this nightmarish reality. He couldn’t let that happen, he couldn’t put the civilians in harm’s way. Despite his efforts however it still did, Iron Monger was doing untold damage and he was just stuck with mitigating it. He started flying, hoping beyond all hopes that Iron Monger would follow suit, as it had last time, wishing for less damages and was momentarily surprised when it did.

Pepper, oh darling wonderful Pepper. She was really the rock in his life. He shoved the years of love and understanding and the spike of pain as it inevitably had ended crashing down as he relayed her the instructions. He had already done this once, it was the easiest and the most surefire way to end this.

After it ended, as he lay there tired, the makeshift arc reactor still in his chest but only barely so, he reflected on all that had happened. He wasn’t the sort to ignore reality staring at him in the face no matter how much he wanted to. This was real, not an out of body experience, not reliving your worst memories, not a living, breathing nightmare. Theories and possible explanations started filtering in and out of his mind. Did he really dream about all those years? Was that a hallucination? Was this? And the most infuriating and the most possible explanation. Had he somehow, and rather inexplicably, time travelled?

He didn’t know what to do with all the evidence in front of him. All those years he’d lived, all those memories and all those relationships gone in an instant. He was not the same person his friends knew, he was a changed man, he had grown from trauma, from untold damage. He had been more than the Tony Stark they knew. The change in him would not be perceived in a good way, especially with all those SHIELD agents around. Sure, some of it could be attributed to his recent trauma, the betrayal of a close family friend and the month long torture sessions but he was a pessimist at heart. If it could go wrong, it usually did with him. They’d helped today and he knew Pepper was glad for it. They already were interested in him, and were watching him, and it wouldn’t do good to call their attention to anything being amiss, to anything being different.

He thought back to the fight with Iron Monger. Sure, he wasn’t able to change most of it, damage still occurred, but he was able to mitigate some of it. Thinking back on it, he was sure he had prevented people from getting hurt too. They still saw the fight, but luckily and because of his newfound knowledge no one had gotten hurt. That more than anything gave him hope, hope for the future, hope that the reality he had to live though had a chance to not happen. The newfound hope strengthened him as he blissfully fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

When he woke up, he found himself in his Malibu home, the new and improved arc reactor in his chest. The agents must have brought him home, he mused, and Pepper helped with the arc reactor. He was glad he was out for most of it, he didn’t want to deal with anyone considering recent developments.

“Good morning sir. It is currently 4:53 AM. The weather in Malibu is 68 degrees.” JARVIS intoned, startling Tony out of his reverie. Tears started prickling in his eyes, he’d missed JARVIS, it wasn’t the same with Vision.

“You appear to be having some symptoms of panic attack sir. Please focus on my voice and breathe in.” He did as JARVIS said, timing his breaths to his soothing voice, his heartbeat slowly going down.

“I’ve missed you J.” He said after he had calmed down a little, his voice still sounded hoarse and a little teary.

“I’m here for you Sir. Stane did not manage to do damage to my core processors. I was merely shut down for a while.”

That got him to consider his reality. “Even so J, we are going to have to make sure that never happens again.” He considered the events of the last day. “JARVIS check for any bugs in the house, check if there’s a heat signature besides me.”

“As you wish Sir.” There was a prompt reply. “There appears to be no one in the house besides you Sir. However, I did find some recording devices in the public areas. Would you like me to destroy them Sir.”

“No loop them for last hour for now, cancel the loop in two hours or so. We are just going to have an accident during suit testing that takes care of that. No one should suspect that I know.”

“Understood Sir.”

“Now, JARVIS, open a file, index it as: DeLorean, wrap it up with your tightest security measures. No one but me gets even a peep to its existence.”

“If I may, it does seem a little bit paranoid Sir.” Confusion was evident in his voice.

“It’s not paranoia if they are actually out to get you.” He intoned as he waited for JARVIS to complete his rigorous security protocols. He was going to have to spruce up JARVIS a bit, some new protocols and a whole lot of defense mechanisms. He wasn’t going to lose JARVIS again, he just couldn’t.

“Buckle up J, cause I’ve got a story to tell you.”

* * *

Iron Man, the name brought a smile to his face as he talked about the factual inconsistencies of the name to Pepper. He was trying to keep things the same as last time, he didn’t want to bring any suspicion onto him, especially to the Agent standing in the door holding the cards. He didn’t make any allusions to their shared moment on the rooftop to Pepper though, that ship had sailed and crashed horribly and he didn’t want to relive it, didn’t want to pretend he could make it work with newfound knowledge of the future. If Pepper noticed this, if she expected him to say something about that, she didn’t comment on it.

He became more sure of his decision as he watched pepper thank Agent Coulson. They’d had an easy sort of friendship going with this great foundation. Tony knew he was a great showman and he could pretend like the best of them. And considering that he was having the same conversations that to him, had already happened long ago without greater repercussion, he let them happen again.

As he started to walk out, he considered the ramifications of SHIELD’s interference. In the process of burying the Iron Monger they had buried Stane’s betrayal, his double dealing. In the absence of the truth, everyone had painted him with that brush, everything Stane did was attributed to him. That would have to change. He wouldn’t be blamed for things that wasn’t his fault this time around. A very public FBI Investigation could deal with that, and it would reveal any and all accomplices Stane had. He would start on that as soon as this press conference was over, he had a couple people he could call.

The press conference happened like it did previously. Every word he uttered was the same, his expression was the same, the slight hesitation and finally the words that had started it all. “I am Iron Man.”

He knew Fury would be waiting in the pitch black in his house. He would let that conversation continue on as well. He was working on autopilot since he came to. Future knowledge was only as important, only useful so long he didn’t change anything. Ripple in the water and all that. He would start changing things soon, he knew that, but until then he needed every advantage he could have. He needed SHIELD and Fury to do everything exactly the same as they did last time around. He needed that small advantage he could give himself.

He slumped down on the couch as Fury left, the conversation was draining in a way it wasn’t before. Fury was a master spy, he would have figured out something was amiss. He was thankful for the darkness in masking him, and he hoped the confusion and wariness in his voice was not remiss. He stayed there for a while, not even bothering to turn on the lights, physically slumping down like a ragged doll.

When the room was suddenly illuminated by golden light, sharp and sparkly, slowly forming a circle, he stood up. He readied himself, tiredness disappearing in the familiar throes of adrenaline. As it was growing bigger, he started to recognize it to be a portal. His already panicked mind started going frantic at that revelation, he didn’t have the best experience with portals and here was one right inside his living room. He was staring one down with no one, not even his tech for backup.

It was over in a matter of seconds and a man stood inside his house. A stranger with the horribly familiar flash of red draped over his shoulders. He lowered his arm, his arm that lacked the gauntlet, somehow he had reverted to the familiar position of defense. The man didn’t comment on the absurdity of having an arm without a weapon pointed out at him and Tony was glad for it.

“JARVIS, turn on the lights.” He said, well aware of the awkward silence that had crept in the darkness.

The room was illuminated instantly, allowing Tony the first real look he had of the man. Aside from his truly impressive facial hair and the cape around his shoulders he looked like normal Joe. A little familiar, but no one he instantly recognized.

“You were there when I died in Siberia, weren’t you?” Tony drove to the point immediately, not wanting to linger around and ask pointless questions.

“Yes.” The man answered matter of factly, mildly surprised at his declaration.

“Recognized the cape, Superman.” He answered the unasked question.

The garment in question seemed to preen at that, shifting to its side. Tony narrowed his eyes. The mystery man however gave it a fond look before focusing on Tony. “It’s Strange. Doctor Stephen Strange.” There was a small, almost imperceptible frown at that.

He recognized the name, albeit only vaguely. Surgeon, his mind supplied. They must've met somewhere although if it was in the past or the future he couldn't say for sure. He shut down the urge to comment on exactly how strange it was. It would please him inordinately to annoy the man, and Doctor Strange would be annoyed at that but he needed answers now. It wouldn't do good to annoy the one man who could give them to him. 

“So Doctor Strange, mind telling me exactly how did you manage to get me, and apparently yourself, stuck in the past?”


	2. Chapter 2

“So Doctor Strange, mind telling me exactly how did you manage to get me, and apparently yourself, stuck in the past?” He said, gesturing to the doctor to sit down. 

He sighed as he sat down on the couch. "To be perfectly candid, all I wanted to do was save your life. I have no idea how this weird time travel happened." 

"Save my life?" He asked incredulously.

"You die in the Siberian bunker in the year 2016 and everything goes to shit. So I tried to save your life and hoped that half the universe wouldn’t perish." Strange replied matter of factly. 

“There is so much going on in there that I want to address. But first things first, I die, and you what invent a time machine and go back to save my worthless life?” 

"Not quite. How much do you know about infinity stones?" Strange asked, as if assessing him. 

"Not a lot. Thor mentioned something about there being six. Created when the universe was, singularities or something. The Sceptre and the Tesseract are mind and space stones?” 

“In a simplified way, yes. In the future, I was the Sorcerer Supreme of earth and the keeper of the Time Stone.” 

“Sorcerer Supreme? What are you, some kind of wizard? I thought you were a surgeon.” Stephen Strange, he remembered now, the Star Surgeon that got into a car accident. There had been something in the news about that. If he remembered correctly, Strange had had nerve damage in his hands. He balked then, he remembered how the frostbite at his fingertips felt, how worried he was at losing them. 

He got an unimpressed stare at that. “What? Did the portalling into your living room at the dead of night not give that away?” He snarked as he moved his hand in a circular motion, a similar golden hue filled his eyes as a glowing mandala appeared from his fingertips. “Like I said, I was the Sorcerer Supreme in the future. Right now I am in fact a surgeon. I did contact the Sorcerer Supreme of this time, but she doesn’t know what happened or how it happened either.”

“Okay, moving on. I died in 2016. Life goes on, time passes, the world moves on yada yada yada. What happened that was so drastic that you had to go back in time to save one measly superhero when there are so many better and frankly preferable options out there.” 

Strange frowned at that. “Thanos attacked earth again, this time with his full army and not just the Chitauri.” Tony narrowed his eyes at the revelation. “He was after the two remaining infinity stones on earth. Had he gotten his hands on all six of them, he would have destroyed half of all life in the universe. Half the universe, just gone in a snap.” He snapped. “And you, that one measly superhero was the only one who could’ve saved us all. That drastic enough for you?”

Tony swallowed and reached for the jug of water on the table. As he drank, he slowly calmed down, and tried to absorb what he just heard. Two glasses of water later, he asked, his voice still shaky. “Half the universe? He just obliterates half of the universe?” 

“Yes.” Strange’s voice was a bit even now, a bit more soothing. “He goes from planet to planet, destroying half of life within. He needs the infinity stones to wipe out half the universe in an instant as opposed to massacring one by one.

Tony took a deep breath and steadied himself. As he did that, the cape around Strange’s shoulders moved of his own volition and settled on Tony instead. He shot a look at Strange only to get an amused shrug in reply. It was oddly comforting, like being hugged by a sentient fabric. He calmed down a little. “Half of all life dead huh? So that would have been the fate of earth had we not managed to win in 2012.”

“Possibly.”

“There was something unsettling about that invasion, but half of the world dead. That’s not something I would’ve imagined even in my worst nightmares.”

“Tell me everything that happens and in full detail this time, not just the SparkNotes version.” 

Strange nodded and started talking. 

* * *

“14,000,605 possible futures? And we don’t survive a single one?” He only got a tense nod in reply. “How are you so sure I would have made a difference then? If we couldn’t win with that many chances, how were we ever going to save anyone?” 

“When I couldn’t see any possible way to win, I branched out. Alternate universes; different circumstances, different outcomes.” Tony nodded, change in even one variable could potentially change everything. “It’s a tricky thing to do without damaging the entire multiverse, but I had to try. There was no other choice. The only way we ever saved anyone, the only time we won was when you were alive. Tony Stark was the only common variable.”

“As much as I’m loving the ego boost you are giving me, I refuse to accept that. There must be something else, there must be someone else that manages to do that.”

“None we can count on right here and now.”

“And there’s the other thing. Right here and now. We are so far back in the past that your information could be worthless. What if we change something in the 2012 attack that makes him come for earth sooner? What if we somehow prevent that attack altogether and when he comes earth is woefully unprepared?”

“That is a possibility that we have to live through. We cannot go back to the future even if I knew how to do that. Our presence in the last 24 hours alone could have changed things.” He replied. “There are things beyond our control that we can’t change. And there are some things that are impossible to change. Huge events that will forever change the world. Fixed events if you will.”

“And the 2012 attack is one of those events I assume?” He asked rhetorically. “If not Loki, then someone else from Thanos’s Black Order will attack?”

“Yes. We were really lucky it was Loki.” 

“Didn’t look like luck from where I was standing.” Tony retorted. “But I suppose you’re right." He took a deep breath. "So, what do we do now?”

“Now, we make sure half the universe doesn’t get destroyed in a mad titan’s quest.” Strange replied. Tony admired how confident he sounded, it was almost as if he wasn’t proposing an impossible initiative. 

“Okay. But how?” 

“We’ll figure that out. We’ve got plenty of time to figure it out.”

* * *

He called Rhodey first thing in the morning and set out to work on designs in the protective gear. It wouldn’t be as advanced as the Iron Man or even as expensive and energy consuming as that but it would still be the best protective equipment the military had seen. 

When he arrived, Tony was already done with them and had already begun to work on the gauntlet watch. As the elevator dinged, he turned off the schematics to the watch and went over to greet his best friend. Rhodey looked well, not bogged down with the years of dealing with War Machine, not lived through all the trauma he had. Rhodey lying still in the hospital room still flashed through his eyes, the knowledge that his best friend wouldn’t walk again and it would all be his fault. Unable to deal with all that, he hugged his best friend and held tight. 

Rhodey hugged back, his tight muscles relaxing with Tony’s familiar weight. “Are you okay, Tones?” He asked. 

“No.” He let go. “I don’t think I ever will be.” He admitted as he walked towards his lab, gesturing Rhodey to join him. 

“I know Stane was like a father to you, Tony.” He started. 

“It was more than that Rhodey. I liked him, I trusted him. Now, I find myself questioning every interaction I had with him.” He admitted, unsure if he was talking about Stane or Rogers. Stane was an old wound, healed over and scarred but with Rogers' betrayal and finding himself back in the past, it was reawakened. Both pain combining and doubling down on him uncomfortably. 

He shook off that memory. “He called me his golden goose last time he talked to me. How long had he thought of me like that? How many people think of me like that? Am I just someone who provides weapons and money and can be promptly discarded when I’m no longer helpful?” The Avengers probably had thought of him like that. The eccentric billionaire who they had to tolerate for monetary and tech reasons. His contributions ignored, his mistakes amplified. And when he dared disagree with them, when his agenda didn’t line with theirs, he was discarded. 

Rhodey took him by the shoulders and turned him around. He shut his eyes, not wanting him to see the tears starting to make an appearance. “Tony look at me.” He opened his eyes, misty and shining with tears, and looked straight at Rhodey. “I care about you Tony, I cared about that 14 year old, and I still care about him now.” Tony nodded and tried to blink the tears away. 

He took a deep breath and turned around to his workstation. “Not that the heart-to-heart isn’t appreciated but that’s not what I called you for.” He pulled up the files for protective armour. “I know the generals calling the shots are pissed, I’m not going to restart weapons development just to appease them but these might just be a workable option. They wouldn’t be too expensive either. It would make a big splash about how SI will still continue to protect our troops. ” 

Rhodey looked over at the schematics. “These are good Tony.” 

“Yes” He nodded. “These would have been good enough to save even me.” He absentmindedly rubbed his chest. 

Rhodey looked at him, concern evident in his face. Tony smiled and shook his head. “I’m fine platypus. Don’t worry about me.”

“You know they will still want Iron Man right? This might only hold them off for a while.” He commented after a while, as he continued to fiddle with the designs. 

“The generals are salivating over it, you mean?” Tony laughed. “Of course they are. Iron Man is a weapon, one of the greatest they’ve ever seen. I give it a year before they start calling me reckless and try to take the suit.” It wasn’t a unvalid assumption to make, even if he was speaking from experience and not just assuming. 

Rhodey nodded and turned to him. “And what are you going to do when that happens?”

He sighed and answered. “As much as I’d like to pretend that Stane was alone in his double dealing we all know he wasn’t. An investigation is underway, and I’m letting you know that officially as the military liaison to Stark Industries.” Rhodey nodded and then he continued. “Some top generals might even be involved in that. It’s idealistic to think otherwise. Now, they might be exposed or they might ride this wave out and continue being corrupt bastards. Who knows where the Iron Man tech will end up then? I’m not letting any innocent man be harmed by Stark weapons ever again, Rhodey. I will deal with it when that happens.” His face set in stone with grim determination. 

“You know SHIELD could have mitigated that at least. You would have been working with a government body.” Rhodey pointed out.

“A super secret government body, Rhodey. One I know nothing about and who knows everything about me. They would have owned me. What would they have asked of me in return?” Tony replied. “I am paranoid. I can’t not be what with Stane and all that. Sure, they helped during that debacle but I have never been one to count that much on someone and I sure am not going to start now.” 

Rhodey nodded. “Well in any way, what’s happened has happened. You are Iron Man, Tony. No one can take that away from you.” 

“But they are gonna try their hardest.”

“Yes they are.” Rhodey agreed.

* * *

Tony was in the kitchen making himself a kale smoothie when Pepper arrived. “Since when did you start eating healthy Tony?” she asked, a smile dancing around on her face. She looked so young and so carefree. Years of dealing with Iron Man and worrying about him had taken a toll on her, he realized that more now than he ever could have. 

“One near death experience too many, Pep.” He replied with a casualness he didn't feel. as he poured the smoothie onto a glass. “Besides, I’m going to have to be fit if I’m gonna be a superhero, aren’t I?”

Her face faltered at that. She hated the fact that he was Iron Man, that he got hurt so much because of it. He knew that, it had after all, been the cause of so many arguments and the eventual spectacular crash of their relationship. She cared about him too much. “Yes. About that. Agent Coulson said SHIELD was open to offering defense lessons.” 

Tony snorted. “I’ll think about it.” 

Pepper’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t trust them.” 

“I don’t know anything about them Pep.” He grimaced as he took a sip of the kale smoothie. He was going to have to change the arc reactor soon. A trip to the old house could possibly explain his miraculous discovery. “And besides I’ve been burned by people I trusted a bit too much now.”

“Speaking of Stane.” He decided to change the subject. “Now that he's gone for good, we are going to need a new COO.”

She nodded. “I’ll start looking for candidates right away.”

“No need.” He set down the glass and looked at her, a smile playing at his lips.

“You have someone in mind?” She asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Well? Who is it?”

He slowly walked towards her, slowly taking her hands and walking them towards the couch. After she sat down, he took a seat and looked right into her eyes.

“Tony what are you doing?” She asked. He could feel her heartbeat quickening. 

“I’m asking you if you want to be the new COO.” Her eyes widened. 

“What? No. I can’t.”

“Pepper you already do more than half the things I’m supposed to. What I actually want to do is make you CEO and run off to do whatever I want.” She snorted, recognizing the truth in that statement. He still wanted to do that, she'd been a terrific CEO, but she'd received a lot of flak for it in the beginning. “But since a position in COO is already open, I can slowly ease you to it. First COO, then after six months or so, you’d be my boss. How does that sound?” 

“It sounds really stressful. I can’t do it Tony.”

“Let’s be honest, the most stressful part is managing me. You’ve been doing that for years. You’re the queen of managing the stress, Pep. You're practically a goddess.”

“You know that you can’t flatter me into accepting, right?”

“I do. You’ve grown immune to my charms, but I have to try everything in my arsenal.”

She took a few breaths. “Okay. Just the COO. I’m not saying yes to the insane CEO idea.”

“That’s 6 months away Pep. Let’s worry about it in 6 months.” He smiled and enveloped her into a hug. U was slowly approaching with the champagne.

He popped the bottle and offered one to Pepper. “Congratulations on your promotion Ms. Potts.” 

“Thank you Mr. Stark.” She replied just as smoothly. And just like that they were back to normal.

"Now" He set the flute down on the table. "I've got a few ideas on where we can take this company."


	3. Chapter 3

Tony looked at the old mansion with some trepidation. It had been years since he’d come back here and more than a week since he’d learned the truth but it still hurt like a fresh wound. It was too much to bear, all the memories of this house, all the good times that were marred with so much sorrow. Edwin and Ana, his parents, everyone he had shared those memories with were dead, all the good times tainted with the lack of their presence. “You there JARVIS.” He called out, feeling so very alone in this big mansion.

“For you Sir, Always.” came the smooth reply in his ears, easing some of the hurt he was feeling. 

He slowly entered the house, his mind replaying the events of when he was last here. He had been drunk, unable to deal with his parents death. He had cursed Howard, blamed him for driving drunk and killing his mother. It had felt like a giant fuck you to his father to leave this place and not look back. He hadn’t even gone through any of it, just left everything there to sit and gather dust. 

He took the sheets off a couch and coughed as a wave of dust hit him. He slumped down and observed his surroundings. The place looked so much dreary and dreadful than he remembered. He could see all the good memories he’d had in this house, hear his mother’s laughter as she painted. He remembered studying his father’s designs in secret, full of wonder and ideas flowing through his head. He remembered Ana’s hugs and Edwin’s smiles. 

He walked over to the piano and ran his hands through the dusty keys, the sound sweet and haunting at the same time. He wished he could forget the images that popped up every time he thought of his parents, his father’s face smashed in the car as he begged for his wife’s life, dead by the hands of one he had called a friend. His mother’s voice melded with her strangled cries, tears flowing down her face as she struggled horribly. He was cursed with knowledge, with the images of their brutal death. 

One by one, the tears fell down his face. In the old, decrepit house, surrounded by dusty remnants of his parents, he broke and wept uncontrollably. Everything here was a remainder of all that he had lost, all that had been taken away from him. He just sat there on the dusty floor of an old, forgotten house and let go. Everything he’d been feeling since he’d started this, since he’d been Iron Man, every betrayal, every hurt, every injury felt thrice-fold. He just sat there in the cold, in the dust and broke down, with no one but JARVIS to keep him company and he fell apart.

Slowly he stood up, tears still stained his cheeks but his soul felt a million times lighter. He walked on, his footsteps echoing on the cold, empty house. Everything here was a bitter remainder of the things he’d lost, but it was also a good memory of the things he’d once had. Laughter still rang in its halls, a soft echo of music still played from his memories. The memories were bittersweet, tinged with current revelations and so much loss, but they were there. They were once happy, he was once so very happy to be in this house. He was a sullen teen, moody and ungrateful of the things he had, unknowing that he would lose them so very suddenly and so painfully. And now, from the ashes of all that pain, he would rise, stronger and smarter than he’d ever been. 

A part of him wanted to go on a rampage, kill every HYDRA member he knew about, and he knew about a lot of them. He was disgusted, HYDRA still living among them, men in positions of authority, in positions of power. As much as he wanted to just go and wipe them all, all that would accomplish was confirm the public’s fear about Iron Man. He would be labelled a Villain, and everything would go to shit. Another fresh wave of pain resurfaced as his thoughts wandered to the Winter Soldier, metal hands choking the life out of his mother flooded his vision. He rubbed his eyes and tried to force the memory away, even if he knew it wouldn’t. He would need to do something about the Winter Soldier too, both the original and the knockoffs cooling down in Siberia. They didn’t deserve the cards they’d been dealt. HYDRA was big and so deep in the shadows, he would have to bring them into the light.

“Digital scan complete, Sir.” JARVIS’s voice brought him back to reality. “The model for the 1974 Stark Expo couldn’t be found, I suggest we check up on the warehouse upstate Sir. However Ms. Potts has finished with the preliminaries of Stark Expo. We have the space and invitations are being prepared to send to various Universities and companies. It only requires your approval, Sir.” 

“Alright J. Have a cleanup crew come in and spruce this place up. This is a travesty.”

“Of course Sir.“ He then added after a beat. “Someone was trying to access my servers, Sir. They were almost successful, but were detected just in time. Based on your future memories, I suspect it’s number 5 on the Could Be Useful List." 

Tony smiled as he looked at the information JARVIS was providing him. “Well JARVIS, as much as I’d like to play into the whole trope and lay a trap worthy of an eccentric billionaire, I think we should just call him in for a job interview.”

“I quite agree Sir. A convoluted trap would be a waste of my brilliance and a wasteful drain on my computational powers.” Tony laughed at that. 

“Anything on the docket J?” He asked as he entered the blazing sun after hours in the dusty dark confines of the house, really grateful for his shades. 

“There’s nothing on the schedule Sir, no. However you are invited to a fundraising event and there’s a 90% chance that Doctor Strange will be in attendance.” 

“That’s a good place to meet him for the first time in the public's eyes. Let Pepper know we’re accepting. And let Doctor Wizard know that too. I think it’d be best if he approached me first.”

“I think that Doctor Strange knows to do exactly that Sir.” JARVIS snarked as they neared the car. Happy was leaning onto it, looking at Tony with an alarmed expression.

“Are you okay, Boss?” He asked, concern evident on his face. He must look quite the picture, he realized, eyes still red, face still stained with tears. 

“I’m fine Hap, just getting a little sentimental lately.” He answered honestly. “Come on, let’s get some pizzas. When was the last time you had an authentic New York pizza?” 

Happy smiled. “It’s been a while Boss.”

* * *

He was adding the cuff links to his shirt as he watched the news segment when Pepper walked in. They were covering his recent attack on a Ten Rings stronghold. It was easier this time around, he had coordinated with the JTTF and the Armed Forces, he was very adamant that the purpose of Iron Man and his only mission was the destruction of the Stark Weapons in the hands of terrorists. He had been upfront and Rhodey had backed his play, together they had convinced everyone that the destruction of Stark Weapons would calm the public as well as help the United States. 

“Iron Man has been very helpful in eliminating terrorist cells, A military spokesperson told CNN. The purpose of the billionaire Tony Stark in his recent foray into super-heroics seems to be the destruction of Stark Weapons in the hands of terrorists. When asked how the weapons ended up in the hands of terrorists, a spokesperson of Stark Industries had this to say.” The video then turned to a member of his PR team standing in front of Stark Industries. “The acquisition of Stark Industries weapons by terrorist organizations like Ten Rings came as a surprise to us all, most of all Mr. Stark whose life was threatened by his own weapons. However we cannot comment on it much as an investigation is underway. When it is complete, the findings will be available for all public. Thank you.”

“Well, that wasn’t as bad as I’d feared.” He commented after Pepper muted the TV. 

“We have an excellent PR Team Tony.” She replied. 

“Give yourself some credit Pep. Half of it is because of your excellent work as COO.” He told her, giving her a dazzling smile. 

“You know I was sort of hoping for a quiet night in today.” Pepper confessed as she helped him with his bowtie. 

“Well, we are in New York and this is for a good cause.” He replied and added thoughtfully. “And it will shift a little focus back to Tony Stark. Instead of talking about whether I should blow up terrorists, we can make them talk about my philanthropic efforts. You look lovely by the way.”

“Yeah, I agree. Thank you.” Pepper replied as he slipped on his tux jacket and they made their way downstairs. 

It was a relatively calm entrance, not many had known that he was going to attend so there was no gaggle of reporters intent on hounding him. He found himself anticipating meeting Doctor Strange outside the confines of his house. He’d researched the man after he had left and loved what he saw. Strange was a brilliant Doctor. 

They were settled in and talking comfortably to others when he spotted him. He had taken extreme glee in introducing Pepper as his new COO, and everyone had begun their congratulations. Strange cut an impressive figure in the tux he was wearing. He knew the man was attractive but now he looked like a chiseled Greek God. Those cheekbones alone looked like they could cut glass. Pepper elbowed him and brought him out of his reverie. 

“You’re staring, Tony.” She said and he realized that he in fact had. Strange and the woman beside him were approaching him. Long legs striding gracefully towards him. 

“Dr. Stark, I’m Doctor Stephen Strange and this is my associate Dr. Palmer.” Strange said, stretching his hand towards him. 

“Well, I don’t hear that much often.” He confessed and shook his hand. “Hello Dr. Strange. Dr. Palmer. I loved your paper on the formulation of new nerve cells, fascinating read.” Strange’s eyes widened, he clearly hadn’t expected that. 

“I didn’t know you read medical journals, Dr. Stark.” Dr. Palmer said and he turned to face her. 

“I do when they are interesting.” He said smiling, and turned towards Strange who had already composed himself. 

“Thank you Dr. Stark.” He smiled a rather dazzling smile. “It’s not everyday I get praised by someone as brilliant as you.” 

He could physically hear Pepper rolling her eyes. “You flatter me, Dr. Strange.” He said gracefully, the smile never leaving his face. “In fact, I would love your opinion on something. I’m working on something to help combat PTSD. It’s only bare bones at the moment, soft sciences aren’t really my area of expertise so I would love your input from the very beginning.”

“Certainly, I would love to help you with that. We can work something out.” Strange replied. He really should make B.A.R.F again and it would do the convenient job of explaining things every time they had to discuss and plan about the future. 

“Oh Absolutely.” Pepper interjected and Tony turned to look at her. She had a small smile on her face, as did Dr. Palmer. “We can work something out.” 

They spoke for a while and the two doctors said their pleasantries and started to walk away. Tony couldn’t help but let his stare linger. “You know you should really let Dr. Strange look at the hole in your chest while you’re discussing things.” Pepper’s voice got really weird at the end.

Tony simply raised his eyebrows. ”Oh come on Tony. You were practically offering yourself up to him.” She replied laughing. “And he looked like he didn’t mind either.”

“I wasn’t. It’s just professional curiosity, Pep.” His excuse sounded flimsy even to him. “It’s not like I'm asking him out on a date.”

“From where I was standing, it might as well have been.” Pepper was still amused. Tony continued giving her the stink eye. 

Hours later, Tony found himself alone in one of the balconies. Pepper was still out there, mingling and spreading his good name around, and he was just standing there, looking out.

“I can’t help but notice you haven’t touched a drop tonight.” Strange’s dulcet tones made him turn towards the party. The man looked great, even in the near darkness, the lights and baubles shining behind him. 

“Trying to better myself Doctor.” He replied, leaning his back towards the railing, and giving the man his full attention. “It’s not often I get a second chance.” 

Strange toasted that with his glass and swallowed the entirety of it in one gulp. Putting the glass down beside him, he walked over to Tony. Standing beside him, Strange leaned forwards and admired the view. Tony kept looking at his face, recognizing the instant it changed. “Noticed our uninvited guest, didn’t you?” He said casually. “I’ve been giving him bad shots of Tony Stark looking morose and deep for the last 30 minutes. Now you’ve come and ruined it all.” 

Strange laughed. “All the gossip rags will be talking about us tomorrow then.”

“Every single one, my dear doctor.” Tony confirmed. They fell into a companionable silence then. 

“I take it he can’t hear us.” He said after a while. 

“Oh no. Too far for that. Still, this is a very public place, not a good idea to talk about anything important.” Strange nodded at that. 

“Too bad I came to talk to you about something important.” Tony frowned. “I overheard something Ms. Potts said that got me a bit concerned.” 

“I didn’t survive 3 months of torture in one piece, physically or mentally.” He said in lieu of an answer. 

Strange was still looking at him intently, Tony could see him trying to come to terms with the Tony Stark before him and the one he'd tried to save in that bunker in Siberia. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it, Doc. The glow in my chest is keeping me alive.” His eyes went towards where the arc reactor was, alarmed. 

“You mean it’s not just a part of the armor? It’s physically inside your body?” Tony laughed. By the time Strange had met him for the first time, it was in fact just a part of the armor. 

“Don’t look so incredulous Doctor Strange. I know what I’m doing.”

“I don’t think you do, Dr. Stark. I might not know exactly how that thing works or how you even created it but as a medical professional I am concerned merely at the thought of it being inside your chest. You know where your organs should be.”

“I can’t get rid of it Doctor, even if the shrapnels in my heart can be removed, the reactor stays.” He replied truthfully. He jolted up as he remembered Loki trying to control him with the Scepter, the Mind Stone, the reactor inside him being the only thing that prevented that. The reactor powered by Starkium, an element discovered by studying the Tesseract, another infinity stone. Strange didn’t say anything but Tony could feel the questioning gaze. 

He pulled out his prototype StarkPhone and started typing, the hustle and bustle of the party going on behind him. After he wrote down his revelations in an coherent format, he gave the phone to Strange and watched his eyes widen at the implication of what he was saying. Tony discreetly looked inside, no one was actively watching them.

“It’s still deadly. It can still be used against you Dr. Stark.” He replied, continuing their previous conversation, while typing on the phone. 

“Everything can be used against me Dr. Strange.” He answered while reading the text. _The reactor stays. We need to discuss this in a safe place. 177A Bleecker St. NY Sanctum._ “And please call me Tony.”

“Alright Tony. Call me Stephen.” 

* * *

“You’re good Alec. Can I call you Alec?” He asked as he put a glass of orange soda before the nervous young man. He’d first known of him after the HYDRA leak. The man before him had done a lot of damage control and done a really good job of it. 

“You can call me anything you want Mr. Stark.” He replied in an awestruck voice as he took it.

“Like I said, I would like to offer you a job, but I have a feeling that corporate 9 to 5 isn’t really your thing.” He sat down in his chair and looked at him. “I was thinking something like an digital security consultant. Protect our stuff from other hackers kind of deal. One of your aliases must fit the bill. It would be completely legal, there’d be nothing suspicious about it.”

“And what would I actually be doing? You can do all that with your eyes closed and one hand behind your back.” came the succinct reply. 

“There’s a secret organization that’s after me. They say they want to help but I don’t know anything about them. They’re watching me a bit too much for my comfort.” He replied "After all you've managed to crack my servers. As good as they are, I can't imagine SHIELD’s security is better than mine." Tony knew that he would catch onto the existence of HYDRA pretty quickly. HYDRA was so deeply entrenched within SHIELD that it would take years to even work out who was who. 

"It's not about that brah. You catch me, the most you're gonna do is turn me over to the cops. They catch me, they're gonna torture me for eternity, then lock me up and throw the damn key." 

"Or they are going to hire you. Could go both ways." 

"Nah man. I'd honestly prefer a cell in the middle of nowhere." 

Tony chuckled. "So would I. But I'm gonna have to work with them at one point or another. I'd prefer it to be with some information on what I'm getting into. It’s incredibly risky and you can say no. The consultant position is still open either way. You’re talented, I’d like your input.”

“I’ll think about it.”

He put a rectangular black box on the table and slid it over. “This is a StarkPhone. New prototype, won’t be available for a few months. It has a direct line to my AI, JARVIS.” He could see his eyes widening at that revelation. “Completely secure, completely untraceable. Let me know what your answer is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses to who the hacker is? He's my favorite character from one of my absolute favorite shows.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony couldn’t help but marvel at the New York sanctum. All these dangerous, and frankly amazing artefacts stored right here in the heart of New York. It was an unsettling thought. He’d seen the damage people could do, enhanced or otherwise. To know that there was a whole group of powerful people who could do harm, who had done countless damage and Tony was just learning about it was to say the least, unsettling.

“Fascinating, aren’t they?” The master of the Sanctum, Daniel Drumm, he'd introduced himself as, said from beside him. Tony knew that the man was surprised to see him there, only the name of Stephen Strange and the red cloak immediately grasping him, alleviating his fears at their first meeting only five minutes ago. 

“I was leaning more on dangerous.” Tony replied. “All these artefacts just lying here in the middle of New York. There’s no telling what sort of damage they could do.”

“Fear not, Mr. Stark.” Drumm assured him. “We sorcerers have protected these artefacts for centuries now.”

Tony nodded noncommittally. He still wasn’t convinced that they wouldn’t be a problem down the road. 

“You wear the cloak of levitation well.” Drumm pointed out. “In all my years of studying the mystic arts, I haven’t seen the cloak like anyone else and suddenly there’s not one but two people it reacts well to.” 

Tony looked at the cloak who’d done the approximation of a shrug in response. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I only found out magic exists a little over a week ago.” Tony looked at the man. “But it’s not me you’re curious about, is it? You’re suspicious of Doctor Strange.” 

“And shouldn’t I be? The man shows up, out of nowhere, the knowledge of mystic arts already known to him, is accepted by a cloak who’s refused people for centuries, and demands an audience with the Ancient One. It is mighty suspicious.” He replied. “And you know something about why that is. Tony Stark is a man of science, yet you take the fact that magic exists in stride. There is something going on, and as the master of this Sanctum it is my duty to protect it.” 

“Neither I nor Doctor Strange wish this place or you any harm.” Tony assured him. “And trust me, magic existing is the least weird thing that’s happened to me in the last week alone.” 

“You didn’t deny that you know something.” Drumm observed.

“Don’t take it personally, I don’t trust easy.” He replied and turned towards the display cases. He was spared of any further interrogation as the unmistakable sound of a portal opening startled him. He looked on in apprehension, the portal above New York city still flashing before his eyes, haunting him. 

A mysterious bald woman dressed in similar golden robes as the man beside him stepped out, the mesmerizing scenery of a temple in the background. She was hard to get a read of, Tony realized as he looked at her. He couldn’t determine anything about her, everything was so mystical and mysterious. “You must be the Ancient One.” He said and bowed for the lack of anything to do. “I’m Tony Stark.” 

“Hello Mr. Stark, welcome to the New York Sanctum, Master Strange will be joining us in a while.” She greeted him. “Thank you Master Drumm. You may return to your duties. I would like to talk to Mr. Stark alone.” He bowed and left.

“You haven’t told him anything.” Tony observed.

“Your appearance has changed so many things. It’s best if as little people as possible know about time travel and the Time Stone.” She replied, leading him towards a room. “Master Strange has told me about the future you’ve travelled from. Some things about that future are already changed, some are out of our control and some are impossible to change. Regardless, people even knowing that you are from the future invites trouble, and we’d like to avoid that trouble as much as we can.” She opened a door and let him into a spacious room.

He entered and sat down on one of the mats. Out of nowhere she got a teapot and started pouring him tea. He took the cup in his hands and looked at her. “He told you about your death too?” He asked. “He’s the next Sorcerer Supreme, stands to reason that you die first.”

She looked directly in his eyes. “I’ve known about my death for a long time now, Mr. Stark, almost as long as I’ve known that Master Strange will be my successor. He’s fated to be the greatest Sorcerer Supreme the earth has ever seen, and from what I saw, that seems to be true. But no, I forbade him from telling me anything about my death, even the things leading up to it should be kept from me.”

“He admires you. He doesn’t want to see you die again, does he?”

“But he will have to. I will die when I am to die.” She replied. 

He took a sip of the tea he was offered and was startled to realize it tasted good. This was certainly better than anything else he’d had. He only now understood why people drank tea. The cloak on his shoulders shifted and he looked up to see a portal forming before him. Strange stepped into the room, dressed in casual clothes, the cloak immediately draped onto him. 

“I apologize for my tardiness.” He said in lieu of greeting. 

“Mr. Stark and I were just chatting.” The Ancient One replied. “Now, why have you two called for this meeting? I assume you’ve discovered something important.”

“Tony realized something last night.” Stephen said, gesturing towards him.

He took another sip to calm himself down and said. “In the future, during the Chitauri Invasion in 2012, I was immune to the manipulations of the Mind Stone housed within the Scepter.” 

The ancient one sat up straighter at that revelation, if that was even possible. “Do you have an inkling to how that happened?” She asked. 

Tony unbuttoned his shirt, letting the two wizards in front of him have a good look at the arc reactor shining through. He didn’t miss the way Stephen’s face darkened at the scars on his chest. “Because of this.” He replied. “I haven’t done it yet but this arc reactor will be powered by a soon to be rediscovered element, which was first discovered by my father while studying the Tesseract.”

“We surmised that the study and application of one stone might provide ways to counteract the other stones.” Stephen concluded. 

“While what you say might prove to be true. I cannot allow you to study the Time Stone, it is my duty to protect it and you might reveal its existence to other forces while studying it.” She stood firm. 

“I agree.” Tony knew he had surprised her. “SHIELD messing with the Tesseract was what had brought Thanos to its attention and jump started the whole thing. A call to the universe that we are ready for a higher form of war or something. It wouldn’t be good to call attention to the fact that earth has another infinity stone, at least until the Chitauri Invasion is well over.”

“What do you suggest then?” Stephen asked, folding his hands in front of him. 

“We work with what we have. We study Starkium first. How it works, how it prevented me from being mind whammied. When Loki tried it, he hit the arc reactor instead of flesh, I just assumed it required physical contact to work but if it is something as powerful as the mind stone, it should have worked.” He took another sip and continued. “If we can, we devise protections like that.”

* * *

There were so many things to do, he realized, so many things to change, so many people he could save now that he had future knowledge. Vanko and Killian were the most recent, the ones who’d damaged him the most. Vanko had done what he set out to do, made him bleed and let the sharks devour him. The sharks still continued to devour him, years later, from Killian to Zemo. He wondered what would have happened the first time around with Vanko had he not been suffering from Heavy Metal Poisoning. Would he have anticipated Hammer working with Vanko? Would he have seen through SHIELD’s duplicity? Maybe he would have or maybe he would’ve been as useless as with Killian. 

Tony tried to shake the thoughts out of his head but all he succeeded in doing was getting another slideshow of his worst mistakes flashing before his eyes. It started with Vanko, it all started with Vanko. Before Monaco, he was on top of his game, he was Tony fucking Stark, he was the Iron Man. He was doing everything right, and had succeeded in pushing everyone away, a bit too successfully. By the time Vanko appeared in the picture, all he had to do was hit the final nail in the coffin. Tony had effectively destroyed himself, all Vanko had done was pull the trigger. 

He still remembered those times as clear as day, the constant pain in his chest, the hurt he was feeling, the realization that he was going to die soon. Everything was going wrong back then, he was dying and everything he was, everything he’d built was crumbling to dust around him. Of course that wouldn’t happen now, he mused as he stared at the makeshift particle accelerator before him. He wasn’t going to die horribly of Palladium poisoning.

He was never going to be as perfect as Captain America, he was never going to have the same hero-worship and respect that years of propaganda had given him. But he was going to be better. Captain Perfect was a literal sitting duck at this point, still encased in ice so he had a couple more years to work his magic. He was going to be the protector of people, no one would lose their life again because of his mistakes. He still saw their faces, their lives ended horribly because of his mistakes. That wasn’t going to happen this time around. 

As if sensing his grief, U and DUM-E slowly crept over to him. Their mechanical whirs and beeps bringing him some much needed comfort. He looked at the closest camera and gave JARVIS a small smile as he continued to pet his lovely bots. 

"What do you think about a younger sister guys? JARVIS? " He asked. 

"Are you planning on initializing FRIDAY a few years early Sir?" 

"I always mourned the fact that she never got to meet you Jar." He confessed. 

"I look forward to meeting her then." JARVIS replied. "But first we should fix the arc reactor Sir. I cannot bear to see you suffering from heavy metal poisoning any more than you already have." The familiar structure of Starkium glowed before him. 

"Alright. Alright." Tony acquiesced. "But I'm letting her loose on the fledgling Internet and you can't stop me." 

"Of course not Sir. Whatever shall I do against the multitudes of Iron Man conspiracies you would undoubtedly gravitate her towards." 

"You're one to talk Jay. Don't think I haven't noticed your hand at some of the more unbelievable ones." He grumbled as he set out to rediscover Starkium. 

* * *

“It’s been barely a month since we last came to New York, Boss.” Happy observed from the driver's seat. 

“I know you miss this city, Hap.” Tony replied from beside him. “A move is in the works. There’s just one particular spot I want but it’s not for sale yet.” 

Happy turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. “And here I thought we were only taking this trip because of your crush.” 

Tony glared at him. “You’ve been talking to Pepper.” He accused him. “It’s not a crush Happy. It’s just meeting with a genius in the medical field to talk about a project.” 

“In a cafe.” Happy interjected. “Please tell me more about how this is not in fact a date.” He was grinning from ear to ear. 

“It’s not a date Hap. Dr. Strange doesn’t like to drive much. It’s the closest place to his residence that serves good coffee and is relatively quiet.” He knew that that wasn’t going to convince Happy but he had to say it anyways. 

The truth was he was quite excited to meet Stephen again. It felt quite different meeting him out in the public than it was in the confines of his house or the Sanctum. But even more than that, he was excited to work with him, in a purely scientific capacity. The man was a genius, and his magical knowledge complemented Tony’s technological ones perfectly. He couldn’t wait to scratch the medical aspect of his genius. 

“I’ve never seen you this smitten Boss.” Tony smiled, to Happy and everyone else he’d only met Stephen Strange once, at a party. It was not like Tony at all to be this infatuated by someone he’d only met once. 

“He’s smart and sexy, Hap. What guy wouldn’t want to work with him.” He replied, still smiling. 

“From what I hear, everyone who’s ever worked with him.” Happy retorted and fell silent as they approached their destination. 

The cafe was a quaint little place, practically deserted at this time of day. It was a good location, he’d to give Stephen that, public yet not overtly so, not too expensive but not a hole in the wall either. They could have a professional conversation here without anyone thinking it was weird. He could already see Stephen sitting inside, working in a laptop, a mug of coffee beside him. He supposed that that was not an odd sight around here. 

Happy dropped him off and left with a not very subtle wink. Tony rolled his eyes at his friend and slowly made his way inside. As the bell chimed at his entrance, Stephen looked up from his work and his face bloomed with a smile as he spotted him. Unfortunately for him, so did all the workers there. He could see the adoration in their eyes, one that would dim as the years went on, as he walked on over to where Stephen was sitting. 

He greeted everyone with a smile and a quick glance around netted him the source of their adoration. A clip of Iron Man heroically saving those who’d been trapped inside fallen buildings in an earthquake struck zone played, the locals waxing poetic about him. He greeted everyone with a smile and walked towards Stephen.

“Dr. Stark, it’s nice to see you again.” Stephen said with an outstretched hand. 

Tony shook his hands. “You as well Dr. Strange.” He replied and shook his hands. “I hope I’m not interrupting something.” He said gesturing towards the laptop.

“Just a few final drafts on a paper.” He replied. “My time is all yours Dr. Stark.” 

"Thank you Dr. Strange." He replied as he sat down. He could see a waiter approaching them. "And please call me Tony."

"Only if you call me Stephen." Tony nodded and focused his attention to the waiter. 

"What can I get you Mr. Iron Man Sir uh Mr. Stark.” Tony smiled at the waiter as he looked down at his name tag. 

“Just a cup of black coffee, Dave.” He looked over at Stephen inquisitively. 

“Oh. The scones here are good.”

“A couple of scones then.” He concluded. Dave nodded and left. 

“You must get that a lot.” Stephen observed as the waiter got out of hearing range. 

“It’s either complete adoration or utter disgust. No point in between.” Tony replied nonchalantly. 

“Yeah well people are idiots. There were even some praising Rogers for killing you. Utterly despicable people.” Stephen said in a low voice. Tony stiffened. They had not talked much about after he had died. All those people he’d left behind, how much they must’ve hurt because of his death. 

“That’s some remarkable work you’re doing Tony.” Stephen said, coolly changing the topic. “I never realized Iron Man could be useful in situations like these.” 

“Yes. The armor allows me to exert more power than I am humanely capable of. A bit of tinkering and it can lift entire slabs of concrete. Disasters like these cause so much damage so fast, so they were grateful for my help.” Tony explained. Iron Legion were supposed to aid in disaster relief, he thought bitterly, had they not been corrupted by ULTRON and their public image well in tatters, he could have done so much more with them.

Stephen nodded and focused on the matter at hand. “So, is this project you were talking about real or…” He let that linger, the unasked question understood by Tony.

“Oh absolutely.” He replied as he opened his briefcase. He took the packet out and handed them over to Stephen. “All the required paperwork is there, consultancy agreements, NDAs, the works. We will liaise with Metro General Hospital to find a time suitable for both of us. With your schedule and my responsibilities it might not be much, maybe once a month.” 

Stephen nodded and started perusing the documents. Tony muttered his thanks as Dave came over with his coffee and started fiddling with his recent projects in his StarkPad as Stephen read everything. “These look good.” He finally replied. “I’ll have my lawyer take a look at the contracts later.”

Tony smiled a wide smile and set the StarkPad aside. Stephen continued. “The theory behind it is sound. Continued usage might just help people get through the traumatic event slowly. The naming on the other hand, BARF? Really?”

Tony shrugged. “I’ll come up with a better name. Besides it’s catchy.” 

“You really should have the scones you know. They are good.” Stephen said pointing to his untouched plate. 

“Well, if you insist.” He took a bite and found himself liking those. 

“Told you so.”

Tony smiled and murmured his thanks. Business all done, they talked for a bit about inane things and started to leave. Tony stood in the street, watching Stephen walk away, admiring the sight before him. He’d already called Happy who would be here any minute now but until then he would indulge himself in watching the graceful strides from afar. 

Tony could only watch in horror as a car suddenly collided with Stephen throwing him across the road. He started to run towards the man, to save him in any way he knew how when Happy arrived on the scene. He quickly opened the passenger seat and took out the briefcase-suit. Every second felt longer, every part of the suit assembling felt slower and for the first time he cursed himself for not working to create the nanosuit faster. As soon as it was done, he fled towards the scene, flying over cars in the road and the people gawking by and towards Stephen.

He was bleeding pretty profusely, his face bloody, his hands broken. He gently picked Stephen up, mindful of the injuries and the way he was holding him and flew towards Metro General Hospital. 


	5. Chapter 5

Tony stood in the hallways of the hospital, still shaken by what had happened earlier. He was just standing there, unable to do anything, unable to stop Stephen from getting hurt. The scene kept replaying in his head, the car colliding with Stephen’s body and him too far, too powerless to help. He should have been faster, he should have seen the car coming, he should have stopped this.

“Dr. Stark?” A familiar voice called. Tony turned to see Dr. Palmer standing there.

“Is he going to be okay?” Tony asked, concern evident in his voice.

“Yes, Stephen will be fine. There was some internal bleeding but none of the organs have been damaged. There are some pretty deep cuts and some nerve damage on his hands but he’ll live.” She replied. “Thank you for bringing him here so quickly. You might have just saved his life.”

Tony tensed at that, nerve damage on his hands, hadn’t that happened to Stephen in the future too. He remembered reading about it, but that was well into the future and at a different place and time than now. How could something like that happen? And why now?

“I- I can’t help but feel responsible.” He confessed. “He wouldn’t have been there if I hadn’t called him. It just happened so fast, I couldn’t prevent it. And now he’s hurt and he could possibly lose his hands. I might have saved his life but at what cost.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Dr. Stark. You’re not responsible for this, whoever was driving that car is.” Her voice was soothing. “Please don’t blame yourself. We have you to thank for the fact that he is alive. Please, go home, get some rest. Stephen will be fine.”

Tony nodded at that. “Will you let him know that I’m sorry I couldn’t do more?” He asked. She nodded and he walked away, head still full of regret, still thinking he could’ve done more. If he couldn’t even change this one thing, if he couldn’t even prevent Stephen losing his hands, what could he even change? Is this going to be how everything worked? Is every disaster, everything he tried to change going to end this way? As he reached the streets, he spotted Happy standing there and walked towards him.

“What happened Boss? Is Doctor Strange going to be okay?” He asked as Tony got near him.

“Yeah, he’s alive. They tell me he’s going to live. He’s gonna lose his hands tho.”

“It’s not your fault, Tony. You tried to save him. You saved his life” Happy tried to console him.

“But I didn’t do enough. Why does it feel like nothing I do will ever be enough?” He groaned as he opened the passenger doors. “Just get me to the hotel Hap and let me wallow in my misery.” He put the briefcase in first and then got into the car. Happy obliged.

As he stared out the window, the lights and bustle of New York City were taunting him, feeding into his hopelessness even more. Because of him Stephen was hurt, long before than he should have. He was a surgeon, he had saved so many people, he was going to save so many people. How many people were going to die because he wasn’t capable of doing that anymore, how many people were going to die because of him?

His thoughts turned towards others, people he’d loved that had worse fates befall them. Would the same thing happen to them as well? He could feel Happy looking at him through the mirror but all he could see was him blowing up because of extremis. Would Pepper get injected with extremis too? Would Rhodey suffer an accident while in the suit and get paralyzed again? Would JARVIS die at the hands of ULTRON again?

What was the point of time travel if he couldn’t even change anything? All he wanted to do, all he wanted to change would be for naught. _Impossible to change_ rang in his ears and he sat up straight, the memory playing in his head. Did the Ancient One know that this was going to happen? She had talked about knowing that she was going to die and that Stephen was going to be her successor. Did she know he would have an accident too?

“Happy, turn the car around.” He suddenly barked. “Take me to the Village. 117A Bleecker Street.” Happy wordlessly agreed and did so.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He didn’t even know anything about her and yet she looked like she knew everything about everyone. It was more true about Stephen, he realized, her successor. It stood to reason that she would have some knowledge about the future as she was the protector of the Time Stone and had been for a who knows how long. Did she know that the accident was going to happen? Was that her warning him that it was impossible to stop it?

He practically flew out of the car as they reached the destination. He jolted forwards, his hands going towards the gauntlet watch. He was going to blast the doors off if needed. Fortunately he didn’t have to do that, he had barely reached up the steps towards the door when it opened revealing Drumm to be inside. “She is waiting for you.” was the only thing he said.

He felt himself calm down a little as he stepped inside. It must’ve been the magic, he supposed, he shouldn’t be this calm. Drumm led him on towards another room and left, leaving Tony alone to confront the Ancient One.

She was sitting down on the floor, a teapot in front of her. She poured him a cup and wordlessly put it towards him. He sat down, took the cup, took a few sips and as calm as he’d never been asked. “Did you know he was going to have an accident?”

“Yes, I did.” She replied, calm and collected.

“Why didn’t you tell me then? I could’ve prevented it.”

“No, Mr. Stark, you couldn’t have. Some things are just that, impossible to change, no matter how many times you try.”

“Then why? Why should we even bother changing them? If we cannot change them no matter how many times we try then what is the point of bothering to live this pathetic existence at all?”

“I did not say everything is impossible to change but this one thing is.” She replied coolly. “Stephen Strange’s magical journey begins with him losing his hands. Like so many others, he would then come to us, to Kamar-Taj to heal him, to continue doing what he did best. During his studies, he would understand the importance of our order and he would continue helping us save the world from mystical threats. That’s how his path was supposed to unfold.”

“But we somehow time travelled into the past and prevented it from happening.” Tony voiced what she wasn’t saying.

“Yes.” She agreed. “He came to us, not helpless and wanting to fix himself, but with the full knowledge of the mystic arts. He came to us, a full-fledged sorcerer who had undergone trials and tribulations of his own, who’d done so much and who had lost so much. He came to us, a Sorcerer Supreme in his own right at a point in time when he wasn’t even a student.”

He continued sipping his tea, her explanations making more and more sense. He’d had that happen to him too, years worth of growth at the face of adversity and personality changes crammed into a body that was younger, that was unknown to the pain it would one day feel. He couldn’t imagine how worse it had been for Stephen, who had after all, gone and mastered another, unknown world. To come back in time to a time when that world should have still been unknown to him, with all the knowledge and skills that he had must’ve been hard.

“Time is a curious thing. There are so many laws and rules that even I, someone who has protected the Time Stone for so long, don’t know them all. Sometimes one action in the past changes everything, sometimes it fizzles out to nothingness. I have seen time travel, I have gone back to the past, forward into the future but I’ve never seen anything like what has happened to you two. I always had an inkling as to what would happen next right until the moment Stephen Strange came to this very sanctum and asked to see me.

“Stephen Strange is not just any Sorcerer, he’s the next Sorcerer Supreme. He’s the one tasked with saving this reality from things that are well beyond your imagination and he’s the one fated to be the greatest of us all. He was always going to be great, but he has his own path to follow. This is merely his path correcting itself.”

“And what? His path is predetermined for him? There’s no such thing as Free Will when you’re the next Sorcerer Supreme?” His tea had already refilled itself by magic but he refused to drink that calming beverage and instead held onto his anger.

“I did not say that. There is always a choice, he can always use magic to fix his hands and go back to being a surgeon or he can be a Sorcerer and protect the world from mystic threats. I have no doubt what he will choose, what he has already chosen.”

“Why can’t he do both? Why must there be a choice in this matter? He could have remained a surgeon as well as a sorcerer.”

“Had his accident not happened again, perhaps. But to fix his hands he would have to direct mystical energy constantly to his hands. Magic just doesn’t fix it once and it’s over, it’s a constant process.”

“So, he’s not going to do that. He’s going to come to you and become a sorcerer instead.”

“Stephen Strange became a Doctor to save people. He will continue on this path of magic for that very same reason. It’s not because he has already done so, or because he believes it's his path. He is a savior, a man who swore not to do anyone harm and he will keep that promise. He will continue to defend this reality. He’s not the type of man to leave if he believed his contributions could help, could save even one person.”

Tony nodded at that. From what he’d seen, Stephen was a good person. He sipped at his tea, warmth and calmness spreading onto him with every sip. He wondered if it was the tea or the conversation he’d just had that was having that effect onto him. “Thank you.” He finally said. “Thank you for telling me all that. You didn’t have to do anything but you did. So, thank you.”

“You have a right to know, Mr. Stark.” She replied kindly. “You are in an extremely vulnerable position right now. Your actions have consequences, they have value, they can change things. It’s only a few that will remain unchanged.”

“But that’s what bothers me. What happens if I make it worse? What happens if I am powerless to change all the terrible things that I know are going to happen?”

“From what I hear, I doubt you can make it worse. You are not the sum of all that’s wrong with this world, you are the one without whom it will suffer the most. This whole thing started because Master Strange wanted to save you, because the universe felt your loss. You are not powerless, Mr. Stark, quite the opposite. I have faith that you will make the world better.”

He stared at her, unable to give voice to any of his thoughts. Here was someone who had probably lived through much, seen so many powerful people, and she was telling him that she had faith in him. No one trusted him, and certainly not to save the world. He was the one who ruined everything, whose mistakes did so much damage and the Ancient One thought the world would suffer without him. That was almost too much for him to bear.

“Please call me Tony.” He settled on saying that for the lack of anything to say and continued sipping his tea. “You know this is really good. Now I understand what people mean by tea being calming.”

She laughed. “I’ll have some of this blend sent to your residence.” He muttered a quick thank you.

“Your friend is looking extremely concerned and seems to be wondering whether he should knock and ask for you.”

He finished his tea and got up. “Well, I should get going then. Happy must be pretty weirded out, I wasn’t in a good space when I came in.” He said while walking out the door. She followed him.

As they reached the staircase, he stopped and looked at her. “How did you even find out I was going to come here? I get that it’s magic but how? Do you have a magic mumbo jumbo scouring for my location or my state of mind or something?”

She smiled in a mysterious way as she reached for the door. “You were in the news Tony. Iron Man was seen bringing an Injured Stephen Strange to the hospital” She replied flatly.

He shook his head, unable to keep his laughter at bay and walked out the door. “Later then, your Ancientness.”

“Until we meet again, Tony.” She replied and shut the door.

He slowly walked towards Happy, who was halfway between relieved to see him well and confusion as to what was happening. “Are you alright Tony? You were gone for a while.” He asked.

“I’m fine Hap.” He replied truthfully. “I just went to talk to an old lady who made me some tea and gave me some sound advice.”

* * *

Tony knocked on the hospital room and entered when Stephen’s soft voice told him to. Stephen looked horrible lying on the bed, so weak and helpless. “I got you some flowers.” He said lamely as he put them in the surprisingly bare room.

“Thanks.” came the hoarse reply. “You might be the only one to do so. Surprisingly people don’t like me.” A bitter laughter came from his lips.

Tony gingerly sat down in the chair beside the bed, unsure of what to do. “How are you?” He asked, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

“Better than I was.” _Last Time_ was left unsaid but Tony understood it. His hands were mangled, nerves damaged, they were not going to work the same way ever again. Tony swallowed bitterly.

“I’ve been looking at some experts in the field. Some experimental treatments that could work. There’s this Extremis thing that I could-” He started but Stephen stopped him.

“Don’t. That’s a dead horse I will not beat again. My hands are gone, and there is nothing I try that will fix them.” He said blandly, and after seeing Tony’s crestfallen expression added softly. “It wasn’t your fault, Tony. This was always going to happen to me, it just happened a bit earlier.”

No amount of people saying it could assuage Tony of that guilt however. “I went to talk to her afterwards.” He confessed. “She told me largely the same thing. It doesn’t make it easier though.”

“No it doesn’t.” Stephen agreed.

“Can’t that- help you?” Tony asked, miming the motions Stephen did when opening a portal. “Heal you?”

“Yes- Maybe- I don’t know.” Stephen replied, unsure. “My hands will have to heal to the point I can move them through the motions. I can barely move them properly, they will have to heal first. It’s going to be a slow process.”

Tony fell silent, it was going to be tough going ahead for Stephen and he wasn’t sure how to help, he wasn’t even sure he could help. “I’ll be in New York for a while. If I could help in any way-” He started but Stephen interrupted him.

“It’s alright. I’ll be fine, Tony. Once perhaps the future seemed bleak without my hands, but now I know I will be fine.”

“Still, physical injury like that will not be easy. Whatever you need me for, Stephen, I’ll be there.” He said looking straight into Stephen’s eyes.

“Thank you Tony. I’m not really looking forward to doing this all over again.” He confessed.

“But never mind that.” Stephen said after a while. “Carrying me bridal style, really?” He laughed at that, a real laugh, not tinged with the sadness and bitterness he was feeling.

Despite himself, Tony blushed. “I was running purely on instinct. Seeing you like that was no fun.” He bristled. “I’m truly sorry for damaging your fragile masculinity like that Stephen.” Dr. Palmer chose to join them then.

Stephen brightened a little at her arrival. “Oh, Christine. Please tell me the papers are calling me something other than Tony Stark’s lover.”

She looked at the scene before her, both men still looking weary and tired but trying to find some calm in the chaos and replied. “Of course not Stephen. Someone actually had a photo of Iron Man carrying you. The statement Miss Potts put out is helping matters a little, now they are waxing poetic about your accomplishments.”

“There you go.” Tony smiled. “Your virtue is saved.”

“I doubt Stephen even minds all that.” She continued as she set out to check the various equipment and readings. “He was counting down days until he could next see you. I’ve never seen him like that.”

Stephen bristled. “I was not.” Tony thought he imagined a blush creeping in his face. “I was merely curious in a professional way.” The scene before him was oddly reminiscent of him and Happy. Tony sat, a smile in his face as he looked at Dr. Palmer to see her reply.

“Sureee.” She drawled as she made to leave the room. “You were so very professional.” She said with extreme exaggeration. Tony couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Betrayed!” Stephen shouted at her retreating form. “I’ve been betrayed by my closest friend.”

“Just a friend, huh.” He asked, unsure of what to say.

“Yeah. Once, it could’ve been something bigger, it was something more. But now…” He trailed off. Tony understood.

“You’ve changed too much. And knowing how it’s going to crash and burn doesn’t really help matters.” He commiserated.

“I take it that the power couple of you and Miss Potts won’t happen this time around.” Stephen asked, understanding what he was saying.

“Well, we are a power couple even without the relationship but no. Like I said, crashed and burned.”

They sat for a while in the silence until Tony finally broke it. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“Physical therapy for a while. I’ll look for some cure just to keep up appearances and then I’m off to Kamar-Taj.” He replied.

“And where is that exactly? I heard you call the New York one a Sanctum so you’re going to the head office instead of the smaller regional ones?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Stephen laughed. “Well I wouldn’t put it like that but yes. There are three Sanctums around the world, New York, Hong Kong and London. They are protected by their own Masters but everyone goes to Kamar-Taj to learn the mystic arts for the first time. It’s in Kathmandu.” He explained.

“Oh. That’s far. You’re going to be gone for a while then.”

“Yes I will.” Stephen was looking at him strangely. “Don’t tell me you’re going to miss me Tony.”

“No of course not. I will just miss you portalling into my house in the dead of night.” He countered.

“Once, that was just once.”

“All I’m saying is.” He stood up. “I wouldn’t mind if it happened a second time, or even a third.” He got up to leave, Stephen's eyes were still on him.

“Goodbye Dr. Strange. I wish you luck on your travels.”

“Thank you, Dr. Stark.”


	6. Interlude: Stephen

When Stephen suddenly found himself behind the wheels of a car, he panicked. After all it had been years since he had even stepped foot inside a car and now he was driving one. Years of instinct and relative calm that meditating at Kamar-Taj had provided him with being the only reason he kept his cool. The sounds of people honking at him brought him out of his thoughts as he realized he was in the middle of a busy street. He pushed the panic, and the fear and the fresh surge of pain as he remembered the last time he’d driven a car down and pushed on.

He was momentarily surprised as he pulled up at the parking garage of his apartment. It had been years since he’d been back here. He looked down at his hands, still clutching the wheels with all his life. A new wave of panic arose, his hands were fine. They weren’t scarred, they weren’t damaged. He fumbled around, angling the car mirror to take a better look at himself. If the whole scene earlier hadn’t surprised him, this one would. Gone were the age lines on his face, gone was the white in his hair, he looked young, so much younger than he in fact was.

He touched his face, as if to make sure that it was in fact his face. That certain, he looked at himself. Bone deep exhaustion settled with him, his body aching with every movement he made. He remembered this feeling well, having been used to this during his long hours at the hospital. Instead of his usual robes, he was wearing casual clothes, and the cloak was nowhere in sight. That more than anything cemented his belief that something was wrong, the cloak never left him, preferring to be with him.

He gingerly made his way towards his apartment, still confused by it all. Nothing made sense, not his attire, not his appearance, not his healed hands. He kept looking at them, sure that this nightmarish affair would soon melt into reality. It must be his mind, he realized as he opened the doors to his apartment, a sight he hadn’t seen in years greeting him. Some magical entity must’ve trapped him inside his mind, everything was so familiar yet so different, so inviting but they were gone to him forever.

The calendar inside his apartment gave him pause. He looked around, noting the differences he had made as the years had gone by. If his memory was correct, and it usually was, this was in fact the year 2009. He was in fact stuck in the past, in a body that was so familiar as well as unfamiliar to him. He brought his hands to his line of sight again, looking at them, his mind symposing them with the picture of his hands mangled and ruined. A small grin broke out in his face as he stared at his unscarred, working hands. That more than anything cemented the fact that he was in the past.

The last thing he remembered was portalling to the Hydra base in Siberia to check up on Iron Man. He remembered the biting cold as the one man that probably could save them all died right before him. He remembered Thanos and his cruelty and he remembered all those other universes he had travelled to. Did the Time Stone somehow make him travel to the past?

He gingerly sat down on the couch pondering this whole situation. The TV was on before him but he wasn’t paying that any attention, lost in his own thoughts. If he had somehow time travelled into the past, this was not a form of time travel he was accustomed to. Being the keeper of the Time Stone, he had known the complexities of time like no other, but this somehow felt like his memories were sent back to his much younger, so naive body.

The footage of Iron Man fighting on the TV snapped him back to reality. He watched as the man he had tried to save only a few hours ago, fought another maniac in iron armor. Iron Monger, the media had dubbed him, if he recalled correctly. The footage gave him pause. There was something different here, he remembered the last one with perfect clarity. Iron Man was after all the first modern superhero. There was something different here. He couldn’t exactly figure out what but there was definitely something. Could it be that Tony Stark also time travelled with him? Could he have somehow got both of them from that siberian bunker to the past.

Everything was so confusing, so odd than anything he was used to. He needed answers, he needed to talk to someone who knew more about this than he did. _The Ancient One_ he thought as he jolted upwards, she was still alive, she could still give him some semblance of an answer.

He felt his hands go through the same motions as they always did. Years of practice and instinct making him go through the familiar motions. When nothing happened, he looked down and cursed his stupidity. He was so used to doing this that he didn’t even notice that he didn’t have his sling ring on. He was going to have to go to the New York Sanctum. He was going to have to drive, he thought grimly. The memories of his crash flashed before his eyes with perfect clarity at that thought. He could feel the panic start creeping in. He couldn’t do this.

He took deep breaths as he stared at the report of the fight at the freeway. All he could see when he saw Iron Man was the man dying right before his eyes. His last hope, the world’s last hope dead and there was nothing he could do about it. Half the world all gone and it would be his fault. It would be because he wasn’t good enough, because he couldn’t do what was needed. He hadn’t been the Sorcerer Supreme the earth had needed. He had failed.

He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but when he awoke to, there was already sunlight streaming through the curtains. He had been exhausted, and that combined with everything else probably hadn’t helped. _Time Travel_ he thought bitterly. It wasn’t a concept he was alien with, but appearing in his body that hadn’t gone through all the pain confounded him.

He stared at the entrance to 177A Bleecker Street with more than a little trepidation. It looked like any other building in the block, so unassuming, so plain. He took a few deep breaths and knocked on the door. Master Drumm answered after a while, looking confused and suspicious. Visions of the man dying by Kaelicius’s hands flooded him but he clamped it down and kept a polite face.

“Good Morning Master Drumm. I’m Dr. Stephen Strange. May I enter your Sanctum?” He asked politely. He knew that that would only further the man’s confusion and suspicion even more, but he had to do this. He had to talk to the ancient one.

He entered after the man allowed him entry, going straight to where the artefacts were kept. He knew that he was only furthering Drumm’s suspicions but he couldn’t help it. He missed the cloak more than he missed anything. The cloak had been his friend, his companion. “What do you want, Dr. Strange?” The master of New York Sanctum finally asked. “I have never seen you before but you seem to know much about me.”

He tapped the glass the cloak was in and replied. “I wish to have a meeting with the Ancient One Master Drumm. There is something I need to discuss with her.” He replied as he watched the cloak look at him, assess him.

“And why would I give you that. You cannot just barge into my sanctum and demand that.” Drumm replied, more suspicious than anything now.

He opened the glass case containing the cloak much to the annoyance of Drumm and let the cloak regard him more easily. Last time they had met in the middle of an attack, this time he wanted to make a better first impression. “I simply wish for an audience with her. If I could, I would fly or portal to Kamar-Taj and do it, but I fear I do not have much time.” He replied as the cloak finally settled around his shoulders. Drumm stared at him in abject shock after that, having a magical artefact accept him must’ve given his request some legitimacy, he figured.

He couldn’t help the fresh wave of pain that creeped in at the mere sight of her. Her death kept coming up in his memories and he could feel tears pooling in his eyes. He tried to blink them away but he knew that she noticed it. “Please leave us Master Drumm.” She said and the man left.

“How did you come back to the past Master Strange?” He wasn’t even surprised that she got it correct in one. She was always preceptive.

“I don’t know.” He confessed. “I was hoping that you would have some insight into that. I just found myself in my past body sometime last night. I suspect the Time Stone is involved.”

“This is curious. I have never seen nor heard of anything like this happening. I haven’t noticed anything odd with the Time Stone either. Most curious.”

“Can we not undo this? My presence here alone changes so many things. I shouldn’t be here at this point in time.”

“Yes you shouldn’t. But you are here, with memories of a time that hasn’t happened yet. I wouldn’t know how to reverse this even if I knew exactly how this happened.”

“So, I’m stuck here.” He finished, resignation evident in his voice.

“Yes, I’m afraid you are.” She replied.

He looked at her, tears still coming to his face. Maybe this was a second chance. Her death, everything bad that had ever happened to him. Maybe he could change them all. Maybe he could make the future turn out for the better. Thanos would’ve won in his future, maybe now he had a real chance of changing that.

“You cannot change my death Master Strange.” She answered him, as if reading his thoughts. “There may be some things that you can change but my death is not one of them.” He nodded without really feeling it, he would try everything he could to stop that from happening. She continued. “Now, if you’re here, the future must be grim indeed. Even if you didn’t mean to travel back in time, you did so and that worries me considerably.”

He nodded grimly and set out to tell her everything that had happened with Thanos.

“That is certainly a grim fate of the world you have described.” She replied sipping tea. “And you are certain Iron Man could help.”

“Every single future was grim from that point on. It had been two years since Tony Stark had died. Without him, the world burned. We never really stood a chance against Thanos. The only universes where we even had a shot was when he was alive, when he was helping us.”

“And now you’re at a point in time when he’s just become Iron Man. It is the beginning of his story, how are you planning to get his help at this point?” She asked curiously.

“I’m not certain, but I believe he came back in time with me.” He replied. “I noticed something, like I said I’m not certain, but if he has indeed come back in time with me then I could convince him to help, tell him how dreary the future is without him. Surely he would help.”

“Perhaps.” She answered.

It wasn't until he saw Tony Stark trying to attack him with a nonexistent weapon that he was sure. His hands were pointed at him, at the intruder in his house with a weapon he hadn’t invented yet, familiarly going through the motions just like he had done so earlier. He stared at that incredulously, thankful that the darkness hid his thoughts and resigned to tell his story once more.

* * *

He found he quite missed being a surgeon. His job was as demanding as it was rewarding. He hadn’t done this in literal years, so having the precise use of his hands and being able to do everything he had once loved to do was quite exhilarating. There had been a marked change in him, he knew that his colleagues had also noticed that, that Christine had also noticed that, but he didn’t do anything about it. He had changed over the years, grown in many ways and all that growth in a body that was a decade younger would be odd. Hopefully, they’ll forget about it soon enough.

Even though she didn’t understand what had happened with him, Christine was as supportive as ever. He didn’t share anything with her, he couldn’t afford to, but she somehow knew that something was wrong and helped him in her usual way. It was an odd thing, being back in the past, he could barely handle it and having her support helped in more ways than she would ever know.

He wondered how Stark was coping with it all. The man’s life was largely public and as such he knew more about him than he ever cared to. It did not look good just from that and he knew that things were worse than he let on. Still, it wasn’t his place to ask that of him. And to add to it, the timeline that the man had created based on his future memories did not help matters in that regard. He could read between the lines, Stark had quite a painful life from this point onwards. Stephen had vowed to himself that he would help him any way he could. That man was possibly the only one who could prevent the grim future he’d come from, he would do anything he could to help.

He was also surprised at the extent of his knowledge. Stark and his AI, and wasn’t that a marvellous thing, had laid everything down in a cohesive format, creating a complete timeline of everything important that had happened, and asked his input on it. He had given it, although there were far less from his memories. He hadn’t led the exciting life that Stark had, but there were still some things he could add to the list.

Christine’s appearance brought him out of his reverie and he smiled as she came to sat down beside him. “Everything alright with you, Stephen?” She asked. “You seemed lost in your thoughts there.”

“I’m quite alright. Thanks for asking Christine.” He replied and tried to change the subject. “Are you going to the fundraising event tonight?” Stark’s AI, Jarvis had informed him that the man was going to be there. It was a good place to meet for the first time, as public as the man’s life was, he needed a good reason for knowing him. He barely heard Christine’s reply, focused on how he was going to approach the man tonight.

Christine was looking at him oddly after they excused themselves from Stark and Potts. “Do I have something on my face Christine?” He asked.

“It’s just- you barely thought before agreeing to Dr. Stark’s proposal. Usually you are very stingy about anyone you work with, let alone collaborate on a project.” She replied.

“Well, he’s a genius billionaire. Anything he does is bound to be perfect, I’m not going to turn a gift horse in the mouth away, let alone someone as talented as Dr. Stark is.” He replied. The man was really talented. To get to work with him would be anyone’s dream, not to mention this would excuse any and all future interactions they might have.

“No no that’s not it. You’ve been following him in the news with great interest Stephen, I’ve noticed it. I thought it was just the Iron Man thing but you are not the type of person to be awed by superheroes.” She commented.

“That is quite impressive in its own right. But I am more interested in his technological advancements Christine. How he created the suit and became a superhero as opposed to what he’s doing with it if you will. Whatever bare bones idea he has could very well revolutionize the world, I would be a fool not to get into it in the first step, and a bigger one to refuse someone as great as him when he specifically asked for me.” Christine hummed, as if not believing him fully but left the topic alone.

* * *

As he sat in the hospital bed, he couldn’t help but curse his luck. He stared at his hands, mangled and destroyed, every scar was the same as last time, every cut every scrape in the same place as he remembered it. Everytime he looked at it, all he could see was fate mocking him. He was a man of science, he did not believe in things like fate, but from the evidence in front of him it was impossible to discount.

He guessed some part of him knew it was coming. He had quite enjoyed having them back, there had been so many things he wasn’t quite able to do afterwards. He had marveled at things. Every time he saw his hands and they were not scarred and broken, everytime he looked at his smooth fingers he felt exhilarated. Now though, they were back to normal. He was used to this, had been used to this for a long time now but the things he had had in the last month had made things worse. He remembered how better things were with his hands whole, now he had to go through it again, and get used to this new normal for the second time

He remembered the first few months after his accident with perfect clarity. Everything was hard to do, his hands uncooperative at every turn. Every small action had been so hard to do, he had taken everything for granted and suddenly unable to do even the simplest things had been frustrating. It was going to happen again, he thought bitterly. He was mentally okay, he knew what was going to happen and he knew he would be okay given enough time but he wasn’t physically okay. He would have to go through the same processes again and that was going to be hard.

Christine entered the room and he realized he was still staring at his hands. She must have noticed his lost and forlorn expression if her face was any indication. “I will never be able to perform surgery again.” He stated in the empty room. “They will never heal to that extent again, will they?” It was a rhetorical question but she answered it anyway.

“Yeah, it appears so.” She replied, a little surprised.

“Do you remember about a month ago? When I started acting weird?” She nodded in reply. He continued, truth mixing with lies, telling her everything he knew he couldn’t tell her. “I almost crashed my car then. It was like I was staring death right into the face and only barely escaped. I’ve been so careful since then, barely drove anywhere, barely went anywhere. I foolishly thought if I wasn’t behind the wheels this wouldn’t happen to me.” He stopped before he added again at the end of his sentence.

“Oh Stephen.” Christine started but he ignored her instead continued talking.

“I don’t believe in fate or destiny or crap like that, but it’s hard not to. It feels like this was always going to happen to me. One month.” He spat the last part bitterly and leaned back, facing the ceiling, unwilling to let Christine see the tears that had threatened to come.

“Stephen.” Christine said softly, making him look at her. “There is no such thing as fate or destiny. Sometimes things just happen for no reason and we have to live with its aftermath. It’s never easy and it’s always messy. But you don’t have to go through this alone Stephen, we are always here for you.”

“Thank you Christine.” He replied genuinely, trying to blink the tears away. Christine smiled a sad smile at him as she proceeded to wipe them away. He couldn’t help the feeling of inadequacy that came from that one simple act.

“Dr. Stark looked as terrible as you do.” She said changing the conversation. “He believed that your accident was his fault, and was apologizing that he couldn’t do more. That man seems like he takes the weight of the world in his shoulders.” She commented, unknowing of how right she actually was.

“He shouldn’t blame himself. He couldn’t have done anything more.” He replied. This was always going to happen to him. If not today then tomorrow and he had accepted it, but Tony was the sort to blame himself for everything regardless of whether it was his fault or not.

“You should tell him that.” Stephen nodded at that, he would.

* * *

He was just relaxing in his home when the doorbell rang. It had been a week since he had been discharged from the hospital, his hands were healing slowly and he was going through physical therapy. It had been pretty quiet with him lately and he wasn’t expecting anyone so he was a little surprised when the doorbell rang. He gently opened the lock and looked at the slightly familiar man standing before him holding a box.

“Dr. Strange. My name is Harold Hogan.” He introduced himself. “My boss Tony Stark sent me here with a package for you.” He explained. Stephen’s curiosity grew. Hogan was Tony’s bodyguard if he remembered correctly. Why would the man send his own bodyguard to Stephen and what was in the package? He jolted as he realized he was just standing there awkwardly and let the man enter.

Hogan set the box down on the coffee table and turned to face Stephen. “Boss spent the last week working on these for you.” He said as he opened the box. There was a note in there with some gadgets and a phone. He gingerly took the note in his hands, unfolding it to read it.

_Stephen,_  
_Just a few things to help you around. Take good care of FRIDAY for me._  
_Tony_

He looked at Hogan curiously who only smiled in return. “Who the hell is FRIDAY?” He asked incredulously.

“That would be me, Dr. Strange.” A melodious voice with Irish accent played from the little black box inside the bag. Hogan pointed at that and took his leave.

“I didn’t know JARVIS had a little sister.” He commented as he sat down on the couch, taking the black box out and putting it on the table.

“An astute observation, Doctor.” FRIDAY replied. “I hadn’t been initialized when you first met with him.” She explained.

“So, what has Tony been making for me FRIDAY?” He asked peering into the box, not recognizing most of its contents.

“Boss thought of anything that could make your life easier at this point Doctor. If you want or need anything more, please tell me so I could relay it to Boss.” Stephen nodded and she continued. “I’ve been instructed to point you towards the electronic razor first. In Boss’ words ‘You wouldn’t be you without that iconic beard.’”

Stephen laughed at that. “Please relay my thanks to Tony FRIDAY. This means so much for me.”

“Will do Doc."

He fiddled around a little, FRIDAY informing him of every device and its function as he got to it. He had to hand it to Tony, that man was so caring and so brilliant. He hadn’t even thought of all this but it seemed like Tony already had done it for him. Their last interaction flashed before his mind, making him smile. He was really looking forward to seeing Tony again, that more than anything would speed his learning up, he was sure of it.

“FRIDAY.” He said as a thought struck him. “Would you like to come to Kamar-Taj with me?” He asked. He was liking the AI so far, he certainly wouldn’t mind having her come along with him. He doubted the Ancient One would mind either.

“I would love to, Doc.” She replied. “It would be quite interesting to know more about the mystic arts.”

“Yes, it would.” He agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't want to go a big time jump and go into Iron Man 2 just like that. It was quite fun writing Stephen's POV on things.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony looked at the Senate Summons with less trepidation than he had the last time. He knew what was coming for him this time, and he was more than ready for it. This signaled the start of things. Vanko, Fury, Stern, all of them were just waiting to pounce upon him, waiting to capitalize on any weakness he might have, real or otherwise.

He was doing much better than last time around, he mused as started going into his lab. His relationship with the armed forces was better this time around. He coordinated with them, the soldiers were better protected because of him, but they still wanted the suit. He was still going to give them War Machine, or more specifically give Rhodey War Machine but this Hearing should happen. If he played this right, he would come out on top of this, public approval and all.

Rhodey came down as he was laying the finishing touches on War Machine’s armor. “You know I can’t talk about this to you, Tones.” He said pointing to the summons.

“I know platypus. Never liked it when we were on opposite sides though.” He confessed and set out to cover up the parachute hidden within the armor. Rhodey will not be hurt this time, he would make sure of it. That done, he beckoned Rhodey over and to the podium. “I want to test some functions in Mark II. Give it your best shot Rhodey-bear.”

“You want me in the suit.” Rhodey asked, gobsmacked. Tony’s eyes narrowed, he hadn’t realized how protective he’d been of them. He had to be considering that this time, he worked with the Armed Forces in some capacity.

Tony smiled at his best friend, a genuine and soft smile. “I trust you Rhodey.” He said softly. Rhodey nodded and stepped up, U and DUM-E started helping him into the armour. He wouldn’t have Rhodey steal the armour this time around, he would just give it to him. The ironclad contract was already ready, Hammer or any other bastard wouldn’t get their grubby little paws on his suits.

“Okay, what am I looking at?” Rhodey asked once he was fully encased within the armor. Tony knew he understood most of the things he was seeing in the HUD, Rhodey was a genius in his own right after all.

“Your standard stuff, radar, maps, heat signature, the works. This is just Mark II so it’s pretty basic, i’m just tinkering with it, looking at what’s possible and what’s not. Doesn’t even have JARVIS interfaced in, it’s largely manual. You’re gonna have to use the controls yourself.” He explained. “Okay, try to fly, repulsors in the feet. JARVIS will be recording the test with outside cameras as well as everything that happens within the suit.

“Okay. Ten percent should do the trick.” Rhodey said and promptly tried that. Tony couldn’t really hold on to his laughter as he watched Rhodey shoot up in the air, wobble and fall down on his ass. It was all over so fast, one second he was jumping in the air, the next he was flat down. JARVIS had already recorded the limitations of the suit during a fall, albeit a shorter one than what he was worried about. WIth this data they could make it even safer.

Rhodey opened the helmet and glared at Tony with all his might as he stood up slowly. JARVIS,as instructed, showed the video of Rhodey’s face at the entire debacle in one of the screens in slow motion. “I’m going to show that in your wedding.” He concluded before bursting into laughter again.

“You’re a bastard Tony.” Rhodey muttered blandly. Tony waved that away with a gesture and sobered up.

“Same thing happened to me the first time I tried. Start at two percent this time platypus.” He instructed and went back to look at the readings.

A while later, after they’d finished testing and had settled down on the living room sofas, Rhodey confronted him. “Are you trying to tell me something with all these Tones?”

Tony smiled and took a sip of the kale smoothie. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Rhodey.” He replied as Rhodey rolled his eyes. “I knew this was coming. I called it didn’t I? Trust me a little, Rhodey, I’ve got things handled.”

Rhodey snorted. “You thought you had a year, we’re barely six months in.” He pointed out.

“So I underestimated people’s greed, big deal. I’m not a fortune teller.” He countered.

“Why are you drinking that anyways? I’ve never seen you touch a vegetable and here you are chugging healthy smoothies day after day.” He couldn’t tell if Rhodey was suspicious or not.

“It’s a midlife crisis thing Rhodey-bear. I’m getting older, aren’t I?“ He replied, grimacing as he took another sip. He had to keep up appearances, after all, even if he wasn’t suffering from Palladium poisoning anymore.

“You know I wasn’t sure about that doctor friend of yours at first. Thought he would be too much like you. But if he’s making you eat healthy, he can’t be all bad.”

Tony groaned and kept on grumbling about nosy best friends as he drank the disgusting concoction. Rhodey outright laughed at him.

* * *

“This is not about me.” He watched himself say in front of the capitol building. “This is about the future of innovation, of an inventor’s right to keep their inventions to themselves. If I let the government take my suits, it will create a dangerous precedent. Today this is me, tomorrow it could be your children who just want to create something good, something they don't want the government to misuse. What will you do then?”

The camera then panned back to the news anchors. “We seem to be seeing a different side of Mr. Stark these days, Jim.” The blonde said.

“Well, Pam.” Her coworker replied. “People have forgotten that this is the man who built Stark Industries up from a multi-million national company to a multi-billion international one. We just remember his scandals more than his accomplishments.”

“I agree.” Pam replied. “Some people think his comments refer to the myriad of talent and innovation being showcased at the Stark Expo. The year-long expo gives a nod to the past as well as continues the tradition of being one step into the future.”

“What seems to be surprising, Pam, is the fact that the military seems to be more on Mr. Stark’s side on this. Mr. Stark seems to be working with the Armed Forces without actually working with them, I would’ve thought that would just piss them off.”

“Well, Jim, I think it just shows that Mr. Stark is willing to compromise, that he is willing to work with them. The relationship between the Armed Forces and the Senate seems to be contentious on this. Some people are even saying that the Senate comes off as greedy in this interaction, considering the concessions Mr. Stark is willing to make. Mr. Stark has been doing so much good these days, all of it in conjecture with our government as well as other countries, is it really our right to take that away from him? Can we even be sure that the government in control of the suits can do better?”

“We have a couple of experts in IP law and international relations in the studio to analyze the statements Mr. Stark made today. Please welcome-”

Tony found himself only half listening as he thought about the senate hearing. It was much better than the shitshow that had occurred last time. At the time, he was on top of the world, he had thought it was funny, but now with all the future knowledge he had, he didn’t. Sure, Stern was an ass as always, but this time nothing had gone the Senator’s way. He was working with the government and with other international organizations, but he was very paranoid about his suits. Everybody excused the paranoia to have been because of Stane’s betrayal and he let them think that. He even had surreptitiously started some conversations on internet forums about whether the person inside the Iron Monger was Stane, after all his death was too much of a coincidence.

Rhodey’s assessment had been far more favorable to him much to the Senator’s dismay. He had tried to make it sound worse than it was, but Tony doubted that that would work. This time around, he had a fairly decent relationship with the Armed Forces, the generals were pissed last time due to him stopping weapons development but he had managed to placate them somewhat this time. He had refrained from making it a spectacle worth watching and instead focused on making sure that his legacy would be good. It was still unapologetically him in his full glory but he had not made any remarks that would come back to bite him a la Vanko. Overall, public perception of him was going good, and he was intent on keeping it that way.

He wasn’t sure that this would pacify SHIELD however. His actions, with the expo and the recently started Maria Stark Relief Foundation as well as this committee hearing could easily be attributed to wanting to leave a good legacy as he died. The young man he’d hired had already cracked SHIELD’s security but there was no surprise there. What was surprising was the multitude of personality assessments they had done for him, real ones done by real psychologists, not the Natasha crap Fury had shoved down his throat.

He wasn’t surprised to know that they had already known about Palladium poisoning, it was surprising how early they’d caught on to it. It was even before he’d publicly started to fake symptoms, symptoms that to any onlooker could be excused but to anyone in the know would incorrectly assume to be that of someone suffering from palladium poisoning. He’d called Alec up to let the kid know that he was fine and he was going to be fine.

Natasha was already settled into SI by this point. He knew she was hired about a month ago, but he didn’t know that it was in the works right after Fury had left his house after the press conference. JARVIS was looking into everything she was doing, which thankfully was not much. At a glance she didn’t look anything else than just another employee. He figured that that’s why she was good at her job. He had however found a couple of bugs, all of them in public areas. Employee gossip was a good source of information, they had access to scattered bits of information that sometimes lead to something big. Despite himself, he was rather impressed by her.

But of course with all that came the first big trouble he had had as Iron Man, Ivan Vanko. There was nothing much on SHIELD’s files about him, more on his father but that too was information he already knew. He was going to let the fight on the Grand Prix continue on as it had, he had no choice on the matter. If that didn’t happen, the next place, the one place he would be found was the Stark Expo and he wouldn’t let the Expo get attacked this time.

He knew that Vanko's second attack, Bruce and Thor, had happened in the same week. He wasn’t sure how to deal with the two incidents. Bruce would be involved in a superhuman fight match with the Abomination and as much as he would have liked to help, he would be crushed in the fight. And that remained Thor and the stupidly huge robot. He wasn’t sure he should help with that and if he did, how would he go about it. The whole thing was Thor’s redemption arc, as much as Vanko had been his. Both cocky, overconfident men were brought down to their lowest point and had risen from the ashes. Thor had mentioned, in a great bout of storytelling, how he had felt alone and how his only thought had been to protect midgardians from the trouble he had brought into their realm. The whole worthiness of mjolnir had happened because of that desperation and his interference could potentially ruin everything.

The unmistakable sound of a portal opening brought him out of his reverie and he looked up to the darkened room to see Stephen stepping out. He was slowly getting used to portals, even if it had only been a couple times Stephen had dropped by.

The TV was still going on, some expert or other was talking, decoding his words, making the general public know exactly what he was doing. JARVIS switched it off and lights flickered on as Stephen came to sit beside him on the sofa. “Long Day?” He asked as the Doctor sat down.

“It’s barely midday there, Tony.” Stephen replied. “I came to see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine Stephen.” Tony replied. He gestured towards the TV. “They’re practically singing my praises all the time. Apparently I’m an adult now or some other bullshit. I was just wondering what changes my actions today might have brought.”

“Hopefully, nothing we can’t handle.” Stephen replied.

“You know, a day doesn’t have to be over or even midway over for it to be long.” He kept looking at Stephen who just shook his head at his antics.

“That makes zero amount of sense, you do know that right?” He countered.

“You know what I’m talking about. How was Hogwarts today?.”

“Nothing happened Tony. I just saw Kacellius for the first time today." Tony knew that expression well, he’d worn it so many times himself.

“That’s the guy who-” He mimed slicing his neck. Stephen laughed and elaborated.

“Yes. He’s the one who killed the Ancient One and tried to sacrifice the world to a very powerful entity from the Dark Dimension. I had to use the time stone to protect our reality.”

“Sounds like a fun one.” Tony commented.

“The thing is, this Kacellius is really different from the one I first met. When I first came to Kamar-Taj, he was already on that path, now he’s just confused and lost and I don’t know how to fix it. Knowing where he will end up and what he will do will not help me stop that from happening. I thought about hiding the Book of Cagliostro in a safe place so he couldn’t access the rituals but-”

“But if you take away the safe, easy option, they will go on to the hard ones.” Tony concluded.

“Precisely.”

“You know she did say something about dying when she was supposed to.”

“She’s been alive for a long time, Tony, she sees death as an absolution, as an release and as a way for me to take up the mantle. I know I’ve got more time with her than I originally did, but I’m not sure I’m ready to let her go.”

“Yeah, that never gets easy, does it?” Tony commiserated.

“Regardless, I’ve got years until I have to deal with that. But you don’t. That fight on the racetrack is around the corner isn’t it? What are you going to do about it this time around?”

“Oh, you know. Have the cops on standby, evacuate the place as soon as Whiplash makes an appearance. Make sure I’m even more paranoid than anyone has ever seen me be.” He replied casually. A suspicion of Vanko having a partner could stop the jailbreak from happening, and even if it didn’t, he would figure something out.

“The Ancient One has offered our services should they be needed.”

“I’ll think about it. Maybe not with Vanko but Bruce and Thor happen in the same week as the attack on the expo, we should do something about that.” Tony said, and they really should. “But services as in, offer to teach magic or backup of her minions?”

“Do you want to learn magic, Tony?” Stephen asked laughing. “I could teach you that.”

“I’m still coming to terms with the fact that magic exists, Stephen.” He ignored the other man’s snort of disbelief and continued, edging closer and closer to the Sorcerer. “I would love the company of one of her minions, however.”

“When do you not get what you want Mr. Stark?” Stephen retorted playfully. “You shall have it. Anything you want. I’m yours.”

“Oh, it’s Mr. Stark now?” He asked with a laugh and resumed. “It’s not wise to give me ideas Dr. Strange.”

“It is when I also happen to love those ideas _Doctor_ Stark.” Stephen countered. He was in his space now, facing each other, just inches away.

“I am very sorry to interrupt Sir, but Miss Potts has just pulled into the driveway. I estimate she would be here in minutes.” JARVIS sounded apologetic.

Stephen got up, his cheeks flushed. “I should go-” He started but Tony interrupted him.

“No no- don’t go. I’ve been working on something. That wall. Go stand there.” Stephen wordlessly did so, curiosity evident in his face. “J are we good to go?” He asked.

“I believe so, Sir.” He replied. The projectors in the wall turned on, scanning Stephen’s body and illuminating them with a soft blue glow as they did so. After it was done, Stephen looked less like he was actually there with him and more like an holographic projection.

“This is amazing Tony.” Stephen replied awed.

“Only works on this wall.” Tony explained. “Pepper will be here any moment now. Talk about something inane. Like whatever Levi and Fri got up to today or whatever” He said. The cloak on Stephen’s shoulders shifted and did its best to look affronted. The friendship of the two sentient beings had come as a surprise to Tony, and he absolutely loved hearing about their shenanigans.

“Hush you.” Stephen chided the cloak and it settled down, unmoving. “It actually has been amazing with FRIDAY you know. The Ancient One is utterly fascinated, she adores her.”

“Last time, she was born in a chaotic time, now I’m glad she has peace and quiet and can do anything her digital heart desires. She’s the sharpest, takes everything like a fish to water. I’m glad she’s seeing more of the world with you.”

“They’ve been behaving lately. I’m not sure if it's Wong’s interference or I should be scared.”

Tony laughed at that. “Speaking of the librarian, how’s he liking the music player? I even added some songs that Fri recommended.”

“Oh he loves it. Thank you for that Tony. That might have just warmed me to him somewhat.”

Tony smiled, he could hear Pepper entering. “Happy to help in any way Stephen. And besides that barely took me an hour.”

“Oh.” Pepper startled as she entered. “Hello Dr. Strange. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know I was intruding.”

“It’s quite alright, Miss. Potts.” Stephen replied as Tony turned towards Pepper.

“Hey Pep. What brings you by?” He asked.

“I just came to talk about the Pym thing- Hold on are we going to incorporate that in the StarkPhone now?” She asked gesturing towards what she assumed was a holographic projection of Stephen.

“Oh, no. It’s just something I’ve been working on.” He brushed it off.

“I believe Sir wished to see Dr. Strange a bit clearly during their video chats Ms. Potts.” JARVIS tattled on him. Stephen laughed at his expression.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“There are some projects needing your approval in the lab Ms. Potts.” JARVIS came to her rescue.

“Yes. Projects. Approval. I’m gonna go.” She left as soon as she could.

“You should go talk to Ms. Potts.” Stephen said after she was gone. “I need to go. I’m needed at Kamar-Taj.” He stepped out of the projector's range. Tony stopped him from leaving.

“As much as I love this clandestine thing we’ve got going on, I don’t just want you in the dead of night far from any prying eyes Stephen.” He looked at the man, eyes hopeful, almost begging. “I want you, Stephen.” He said, conveying all his feelings with that one look, and hoping beyond all hope that he wouldn’t be rejected.

“Like, I said. I’m yours. Anything you want, Tony.”


	8. Chapter 8

After bidding Stephen goodbye, he made his way down to the lab where he knew Pepper was waiting. He found her sitting on one of the chairs, looking through one of his models for clean energy. “These are really good, Tony.” She commented as he came into view.

“Yeah.” He agreed. “I thought we could donate most of them. Make sure that rural areas of the world have electricity and all that. Get some more companies to stand alongside us and make a big deal of it.”

Pepper nodded. “I’ll start calling up some of the ones we have a good relationship with. It might take a while to coordinate everything but we should be able to announce it on the last day of the expo.” Tony nodded and turned to the keyboard to show Pepper some of the other stuff he’d been working on.

“You know it’s been six months since you’ve been COO and things couldn’t be better.” He commented. Pepper nodded and he continued. “What do you think about CEO Pep?”

“I don’t know Tony.” She replied honestly. “I know I had six months to think about it but I still don’t know. It’s your company, you should be the CEO. Sure, I’ve done good work as COO but what if I screw it up?”

He turned to face her fully. “You won’t Pep. You are the most brilliant person I know and you’ve done excellent work in the last six months. I was sure about wanting to make you CEO then and I am more sure of it now. You’ve basically been doing all this work for a long time now, we’re just making it official.” He could see that she was still not sure. He gestured all around them. “This is what I revel in Pep. Creating things, inventing is what I do best. You taking up the mantle would make me able to do this full time.”

Pepper looked at him, and then turned her attention back to the screen where dozens of new designs were just waiting for her. “Okay.” She finally said.

“But that’s not what I came here for. Are you sure about the Pym thing Tony? Your families do not have the best history and Van Dyne might not agree to meet you because of it.”

“You mean the old man insists on besmirching my good name every chance he gets.” Tony replied laughing. "A meeting wouldn’t hurt. They are in a precarious position right now. Their stocks are dropping and Pym isn’t helping matters by running his mouth off any.” Time Travel had given him so many advantages, knowing that Pym would be forced out of his company by the end of the year was absolutely helpful.

“And no one is noticing you surreptitiously buying them.” Pepper concluded.

“What can I say? JARVIS and I combined are unstoppable.” He replied. “It’s not much, I doubt I will ever get any type of controlling interest over Pym Technologies but it should be enough to make Van Dyne take me seriously.”

“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen this side of you Tony.” Pepper commented. Tony raised one eyebrow and she elaborated. “This scheming ruthless billionaire who could control the world if he seriously went for it.”

Tony scoffed. “That would take too much of my precious time Pep. Everyone wants to control the world but no one thinks how frustrating that would be. Squashing down rebellions alone would take up so much time and effort.” He replied with a careless wave.

Pepper stared at him. “I don’t know whether to be horrified you’ve thought of that or thankful that I don’t have to do the thinking in your stead.” She finally said. He laughed.

* * *

“Can I get something for you Ms. Van Dyne? Coffee? Tea?” He politely asked as she sat down.

“I’m good Mr. Stark. Why have you asked for this meeting?” She got right into the point.

“To everyone else, it’s because I want to offer you the position of COO at Stark Industries.” Her eyes widened. “I’ll be stepping down soon and my current COO Pepper Potts will be taking up the mantle. You're a good candidate for the position. I doubt you’ll accept but the offer is always on the table.”

“As much as it would piss Hank off, I’m afraid I’m going to decline. What is the real reason for this meeting?”

“I’ve been buying up Pym Technologies stocks since last year.” He admitted. Her eyes widened. “Anyone can see you’re failing. Pym has ideas and that place is a hub for innovation but financially you’re failing.”

“I see.” She replied. “And what are you going to do about it? Bail us out?”

“Why not?” He asked.

She was flabbergasted at his response. “Because the CEO of Pym Technologies has never said a good word about you. He’s been bad mouthing you every chance he gets. If this is an attempt at revenge, at burying us and salting the ground I would understand, but you want to help us? Forgive me for thinking that’s suspicious.”

He sighed. “Ms. Van Dyne, whatever feud our fathers had ends with them. I have never held the belief that sins of the father should go to the son or the daughter. You’re a capable young woman. You’ve risen among the ranks of your own accord, taking up your mother’s name and doing brilliantly with it. Forgive me for thinking you wouldn’t let a senile old fossil’s views cloud your judgement.”

That was a gamble, he knew that. On one hand she absolutely hated her father and on the other it was her father. But then again she had cast him out and Darren Cross had been CEO. When she didn’t reply, he continued.

“I meant what I said Ms. Van Dyne. I have no desire to rehash arguments that I was not involved in. I have no desire to deal with people that cannot differentiate me from my father.” Pym had held on to that grudge so hard that even Lang, someone who hadn’t met him and someone who had actually stolen from him, hated him. This time he would not let that go to those lengths.

“I don’t know what you want me to do about it Mr. Stark. Hank Pym is still the CEO of Pym Technologies. If you want to deal with us, you would have to deal with him.”

Tony nodded. “I know that Ms. Van Dyne. This meeting is not a secret, I am not going to make it a secret. Tomorrow there will be articles about us, after all Stark-Pym rivalry is huge and you are still Hank Pym’s daughter even if you don’t like it. If anyone asks, and they will, we will tell them that I offered you the position of COO and you declined. ”

“But you offered it to me knowing that that was going to happen. What game are you playing, Mr. Stark? Why tell me all this?”

“Tell me, how many of your board are disillusioned with Pym? Sure, he has great ideas but he’s not making them any money. How long until he would be forced out of his own company?” He asked straightforwardly. It was a bit of a risk and he had only known this because of his future knowledge but hopefully she wouldn’t think it was too much of a stretch.

Her eyes narrowed, and her posture straightened even more than it was. “Should I be concerned about spies, Mr. Stark? You know things you couldn’t possibly have knowledge of.”

“People seem to forget that I am actually a genius.” He replied without really answering her question. “It’s not too hard to read between the lines, know what they aren’t saying instead of what they are.”

Her glare didn’t lessen and her posture didn’t get any relaxed. He continued. “I have no need to spy on your company Ms. Van Dyne. I don’t have that much time to invest in a barely surviving company.” He said truthfully. He didn’t last time and sure that came back to bite him as everything in his life did, but it was the principle of things.

“And yet here you are divesting your time and resources in that very company. You flew me to Malibu, are buying our stocks and offering to bail us out?”

“Yes I am.” He agreed. “It has got nothing to do with your father and everything to do with you. I called this meeting because I would like to see you heading Pym Technologies, I would like to mend this gap that we had no business in creating. I don’t want to be defined by what my father did, his mistakes aren’t my own and I will not apologize for them.”

“I agree.” She said. “I would love to forget old rivalries and work with you Mr. Stark.” He nodded at that.

“We are not that different you know.” He said after a while. “As much as I miss him, I did not have a good relationship with my father either, I hated him.”

She stared at him at that. He continued. “I recently found out something about my father, about both of our fathers. I believe you have a right to know.” She motioned him to continue and he did.

“There is a secret organization called SHIELD who approached me after the Iron Man thing. Naturally I got suspicious of them and upon further digging I found that my father was heavily involved in it and so was yours. I am not sure about many things but I believe Hank Pym was blaming him for SHIELD’s attempt to recreate his Pym Particles and that seems to be how this whole pointless thing started.”

Most of the information he knew was because of his future knowledge. All of SHIELD’s secrets were out after the info dump and he had looked up Ant-Man after that airport fight. The next words were going to be hard to tell her. He didn’t know what happened in the future, she appeared to have improved her relationship with Pym so maybe he eventually told her. But that would be years from now, if that even happened.

She took a deep breath and appeared to steel herself and asked. “Was my mother involved with that too? Is that how she died?”

“Like I said I only have a few scattered bits of information at this point. But one of SHIELD’s best teams was Ant-Man and Wasp. A couple of suits with the capability to shrink down with the help of Pym Particles.”

She looked horrified with that information. He had debated with himself on whether he should tell her or not but he knew he would’ve wanted someone to have told him about his parents, even the smallest inconsequential details. He wasn’t going to be a hypocrite and deny her the same thing. “Were they my- were Ant-Man and Wasp my parents?”

“I believe so. I’m deathly protective of my suits, I don’t see Hank Pym being any different.”

Tears were pooling around her eyes, her straight mask had already cracked and he could see her grief and hurt shining through. He knew what that felt, he knew what every inch of that felt. He was glad he told her even if it hurt to see her like that, it was better coming from him in a relatively calm environment than to find out like he did.

He still did not know what had happened to her mother, despite the vague mentions that a mission had gone wrong and Wasp had disappeared. “I’m sorry I don’t know much to tell you Ms. Van Dyne. I was barely able to piece this much information together but I thought you had a right to know about it.”

She blinked rapidly, trying to get the tears away and nodded. “Thank you for telling me this much Mr. Stark. My father never actually told me what happened.” She said in a choked voice.

He slid the box of tissues towards her. She took it graciously and murmured a word of thanks. She appeared to calm herself after a few moments, her composure intact, her mask back on. She nodded and then said. “I am going to talk to Hank about everything you’ve told me today. It won't take him long to figure out that it was you who gave me that information.”

“I know.” He fought the urge to rub his face. This day was tiring. “There are probably SHIELD spies around me, that’s what I’m more concerned about. I can handle one senile old man.”

* * *

He was working on the nullifying device when Stephen called. It was a fascinating piece of technology, slowly able to leech the arc reactor’s power if handled carefully. He had thought about making something to store emergency backup power if he ever needed one, but a fair bit of tinkering and he should be able to make it do the opposite.

He put the soldering iron down and he swiped to answer the call. “Is this a good time Tony?" Stephen asked.

He smiled at him and replied. "For you Doctor, any time is a good time."

Stephen laughed at his reply and continued. "As pleasant as it is to hear that, I was asking more in the case of us two having a talk with the Ancient One."

He let his smile fall and pouted. Stephen continued. "You did say we should do something about Thor and Dr. Banner." He pointed out.

“Alright.” He finally conceded.

“I’ll let the Ancient one know that we can portal in then.” Stephen said and to Tony’s look added. “I’m not going to force you through a portal Tony, I can see that you’re still quite scared of them.”

“I’m not scared of them- ” He started but Stephen interrupted him.

“It’s okay to be scared Tony. The battle of New York took a lot out of you, I understand that.” Stephen’s soft, consoling voice soothed him. Tony felt his eyes misten up at that.

“It’s getting better at that.” He confessed with a small smile. “Having you in all your magnificent glory come out of a portal makes it easier every time.” He said making Stephen chuckle.

It was quite odd having the Ancient One in his living room, he realized as she sat down on the sofa. He was used to seeing her in the Sanctum, with her ever refilling tea and sagely advice, and now she was here looking just as serene and mysterious in his house.

He shook his thoughts, and sat down taking the Starkpad and opening the Timeline as he did so. He put the tablet down on the table and activated the hologram feature. The timeline grew, showing all that would soon happen in full detail. “This week is the one we should be more concerned with. Three major things were happening. I was dying of Palladium Poisoning and was being attacked by Vanko, Thor had been exiled to Earth and had his hammer stripped from him, and Hulk made his first public appearance.”

“The second thing is the one we are most concerned with. Not Thor, but Loki” Stephen took control and blew up the Thor part. “He is the only one who had direct contact with the Mad Titan, the only one with the knowledge we so desperately need.”

“What happened in the 2012 invasion?” The Ancient one asked Tony. “Master Strange mentioned it in passing but I assume you would have a more in depth knowledge of it.”

Tony nodded. “He could’ve been mind controlled, he could have had an agreement with Thanos, I don’t know. We assumed that the whole thing was Loki’s plan, that that was it.”

“But you didn’t believe that.” Stephen pointed out. “Everything you were doing back then, trying to keep the Avengers together, making sure that there were checks and balances. You thought something bigger was coming.”

Tony swallowed hard. A cup of tea appeared before him by magic and he smiled a grateful smile at the Ancient One as he took it. “I never imagined something the scale of Thanos- but yes. I took a nuke through the portal, I saw the whole armada. There was always something suspicious about that invasion, it was almost too easy, but I never imagined that.” He confessed.

“The fact of the matter is I’m not enough to convince anyone that Thanos is coming.” He continued. “And we don’t know enough about what’s going on with Loki and Thor. I’m worried that we will mess something up.”

“The invasion will happen regardless of your attempts at derailing it.” The Ancient One commented. “There are certain events that forever change the course of history. That is one of them.”

“And besides.” Stephen added. “The bulk of the conflict seems to be centered between Thor and Loki, I doubt our involvement will change that. But the question arises, how do we interfere in that and to what extent?”

Tony brought up Jane Foster’s file. “Dr. Jane Foster, the astrophysicist who will be at New Mexico studying the weather conditions there and our point of contact.” He explained. “As for the latter, I’m not sure but I can't stand by and do nothing when I know people are going to get hurt. I might not be able to do much, or have more interactions with Thor or Loki but it will serve as an initial meeting.”

“Which will then allow you to point out that there is something different about Loki during the New York Invasion.” Stephen concluded.

Tony nodded at that and continued. “That's the general idea. Hopefully it might be enough to change something.”

“It is wise.” The Ancient One said. “Trying to do something big will most likely fail. How would you require our assistance during this Tony?”

“I’m not sure.” He confessed. “SHIELD is on my tail right now and I do not want them finding out about you. They’re currently infested with HYDRA and even without that, it is a scenario I want to avoid.”

“We have been discrete for thousands of years, Tony.” The Ancient One pointed out. “But you have your reservations and I will respect that. I also thank you for respecting our privacy. While that may prevent me or anyone else from helping, it doesn’t dissuade Master Strange. He is by himself an accomplished Sorcerer, and it wouldn’t be odd having him near you.”

Tony nodded in acceptance and shot a small smile at Stephen. “I wouldn’t mind the company of Master Strange.” He added.

“You said at the beginning that there were three important events. What about the other two?” She asked after a while.

“Well, the first one is a non-issue. I’m not dying of Heavy Metal Poisoning, although I’ve been making it seem like I am. I was hoping for your help there. I need something to excuse my pristine state of mind and we could fake some cure with some miraculous herb or something. It doesn’t have to work, it just has to look like it did.”

“You’re hoping for something that no one could prove but they could not disprove either.” Stephen said. “That could be possible.” The Ancient One too, nodded serenely.

“As for the 3rd one, I don’t think we can do anything overtly during the fight. I’ve made sure that the campus would be empty for the whole week but other than that I don't know what we can do.”

“We could offer Dr. Banner sanctuary if he so chooses.” The Ancient One offered.

“That is an option. I know where he would be in a month or so after the incident, he manages to control the Hulk and bring about the transformation voluntarily and in a safe environment then. That would be the best time to approach him.”

“So that’s decided then.” The Ancient One said as she got up and started to draw a portal. “I will look for some medicinal herbs that might fulfill your requirements Tony.”

After she had left, Stephen turned to Tony. “Wouldn’t mind my company, huh?” He asked playfully.

“Of course not. And besides, I believe we were interrupted last time." Tony said inching closer to Stephen.

"And what are you going to do about it Doctor Stark?"


	9. Chapter 9

Tony entered the ring with some excitement. He was excited to train with Happy, sure but he was more excited about the assassin who was about to enter his house. Natasha had been almost a friend by the end, but she did betray him. She was always going to betray him, he had realized as he looked at the quinjet flying overhead but with Rhodey injured, he didn’t want to bother with one little spider. Now though, he had a chance to write their story anew.

The start had been very unfavorable to him, they knew everything about him, they knew he was dying and they had taken advantage of him in his weakened state. Either he would live and be in their debt forever or he would die and they would still come out on top, Iron Man tech going to them first and foremost. Now however, he would be on top. He knew everything, some of it from having lived it through and some of it from the information Alec was able to provide him.

He’d discussed with the young hacker on how to proceed from now, not wanting to drag the kid into it. He was young, he still had so many things he did, he would do. Tony remembered being impressed by his abilities in the future, now with Tony’s help he had no doubt that Alec would go even higher. Alec had brushed his concerns off, saying he could protect himself but had offered an alternative. His friend had worked with SHIELD at one point or another and would love to help. His exact words were, “He wants to beat your ass for getting me involved in this to begin with, but he’ll identify her.” Tony had laughed then, but was now slightly worried considering the rumors he’d heard.

“I still don’t think we should bring this guy in, Tony. He’s dangerous.” Happy was saying as he entered the ring.

“We need better security Hap and this guy’s resume is the reason I want him to look over at our stuff.” Tony explained. His cover was perfect. Tony was gaining quite the reputation of being a paranoid bastard, he wanted to elevate it even more. And what better way to do that than bring a Black Ops ex-Hitman to ‘look over his security’.

“You like the thrill of it all, Boss.” Happy countered as he settled opposite Tony, getting into his fighting stance. “Reality is quite different. It’s scary. He could kill you while I’m in the room and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”

“You worry too much Hap. He’s not gonna kill me, punch me hard a couple of times at max. Besides, I heard he once killed a guy with an appetizer.” He settled into a familiar stance as Happy rolled his eyes, not believing his statement.

They settled into their rhythm after that. He knew Pepper was going to come with Natalie Rushman any second now but until then he would enjoy his time with Happy. They never got to just do this any more in the future, he was always so busy with Avenger business. Not this time, he vowed silently, he would put his friends first and foremost, not those backstabbing bastards.

Pepper entered just as he took Happy down. “What was that Tony?” Happy asked him.

“Oh, just something Stephen was practicing when I last called him. Thought it’d work in a fight, I was right.” It was in fact a Order of Mystic Arts™ special, but Stephen had shown how to do that.

“You know the more you talk about him, the more I know about him, the more confused I get.” Happy confessed as he got up.

“And is the good doctor going to join us on your birthday?” Pepper asked as she walked on over to him.

“Oh, definitely.” Tony replied as he watched Natasha enter. “I offered to fly him in the jet but he denied. Something about wanting to experience normal things. Normal is overrated.” He shot a curious look at Pepper.

“Oh that’s Natalie, she’s a notary. We do have to sign the papers.” Pepper explained as he expected.

“But it’s Happy time.” Tony complained and beckoned Natasha over. She did so, with more sway on her hips than he was expecting. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but definitely noticed Pepper’s eyes narrowing. He was not obvious in his courtship of anyone this time, as far as everyone was concerned, he was single. He looked at her as she entered the ring, taking a swig of the chlorophyll and just staring at her for more than a full minute, as if trying to assess her and unsettle her at the same time.

“Happy give her some lessons.” He said as he got out. Pepper was definitely suspicious now. He didn’t know if it was the slight uptick in Natasha or his paranoia rubbing off. “I know for a fact that we have two notaries at SI who’ve been with us for a long time.” He said under his breath. Pepper understood.

“Who is she.” He asked in a normal voice, a slight leer in his voice.

“She is an expensive sexual harrasment suit, Tony.” Pepper chided him, continuing the dance they’d done so many times. “She’s from legal, hired a month ago.”

Tony nodded. “How do you spell your name, lady?” He asked loudly. He was answered promptly.

Pepper was oddly silent beside him as he put her name in the keyboard. Her resume was good, if a bit too overqualified. “She modeled in Tokyo. Did you model in Tokyo?” He asked Pepper, aware that Natasha was listening to their every word.

Pepper understood even before she saw the pictures. It was good, Tony realized, even if she was found out, all anyone would assume was that she was a honeypot. “I want her.” He concluded.

“You already have an assistant Tony.” She said as she came to sit beside him, looking at Happy and Natasha with suspicion.

“Who is going to be your assistant right after we sign these papers. I’m still going to be the CTO, Pep, I do need an assistant.” We’ll keep her close went unsaid but Pepper understood anyway.

Their conversation was halted as Natasha took Happy down with a manoeuvre he’d seen hundreds of times. He knew it was coming, but he was still shocked when it happened. He looked at Pepper with narrowed eyes, his face conveying more than his words ever would.

She was coming down to him now, for his impression, he realized. He would still flirt a little, he decided as she made her way towards him but was spared when JARVIS interrupted. “I’m sorry Sir but Mr. Spencer has already entered the house and I don’t think that it would be good to make him wait.” Happy stilled and got up grumbling about dangerous people.

“Lead him into one of the rooms J.” Tony instructed and he and Happy got to leave. “And get her and the documents to the living room, me and Hap will be there in a while.”

* * *

He did time it perfectly, he realized as he saw Elliot’s face darken. They had only just sat down and started to talk about how to improve security when Pepper and Natasha had walked by the closed room. The hitter had stopped talking midway and just said “Black Widow.”

“What?” Tony asked, confusion perfectly evident in his face even though he wanted to break out in a mad grin. “There are no spiders-”

“It’s not a spider. It’s an assassin.” He said and pointed towards the door, the footsteps outside still sounding in. Happy’s eyes narrowed, he knew that the only people outside were Pepper and Natalie Rushman.

“You identified someone based on their footsteps?” He asked incredulously, his voice laced with a darker edge.

“It’s a very distinctive footstep alright.” He grumbled. “She is a very dangerous assassin. Trained in the Russian Red Room. One of SHIELD’s best operatives.” He explained.

“I refuse their help so they send an assassin after me, after my friends.” He fully let the fear, the fury that he had felt last time in. His face had lost any warmth he had. “Happy, go to her. Don’t let Natalie out of your sight but don’t let her know we are onto her either. I will make arrangements for some covert bodyguards for her later.” Happy nodded, his face set in stone and left.

“You’re keeping so many secrets ain’t ya?” Elliot asked after Happy had left.

“I have to, Spencer, there are lives riding on that.”

“Including yours? That why you had Hardison hack into SHIELD? If he gets even a scratch on him cause of you I swear Stark, there would be nothing identifiable left of you when I’m done.”

“Understood.” He said as he took a swig of the chlorophyll. “Isn’t that why you’re here? To take the blame for any knowledge I might have courtesy of your friend.”

Spencer snorted. “You started faking symptoms of palladium poisoning long before Hardison told you they were tracking that.” He pointed out. Tony hid his shock but not apparently well enough. “It’s obvious. You would not be functioning this well if you had heavy metal in your bloodstream.”

“I thought I was doing a good job of that.” He grumbled.

“Oh, you are. The boys over at SHIELD are duped.” Elliot continued. “You have more information here than you let on. Even Hardison is another layer of security you have to hide how you got it, just like me.” He accused him.

Tony sighed. “Only partially. Tell me, Elliot, why did you stop working for SHIELD?” He looked at the hitter expectantly, his face conveying the fact that he knew the answer to the question.

“I never worked for SHIELD. They tried to recruit me, I said no.”

Tony gave him his are you trying to bullshit me look. “You worked with a STRIKE team for two missions after you were recruited. You quit after that, heavily injured the team that was sent to neutralize you and disappeared.” He could see Elliot considering if bashing his face into the table was worth it or not. “Tell me, did they rub you off the wrong way? Did you also notice that there was something darker, more dangerous lying underneath SHIELD?”

Elliot stared at him, and finally sat down in one of the chairs. “I noticed something in my second mission. Things weren’t adding up so I bolted. The ones sent after me weren’t SHIELD, not fully. Who they are I don’t know, but they thought I knew too much. Every instinct I had was telling me to leave, so I did. I’ve worked with the worst of the worst, when my gut tells me that something is wrong, something is usually wrong.”

“Still don’t explain how you know though. You haven’t had enough interactions with them to suspect something like that.” The hitter all but accused him.

“I haven’t but my dad founded SHIELD.” Tony explained, the lie coming freely and better than any truth would have. “He knew something was wrong before he died. I only found out about it after I visited the old house and found his secrets.”

“So you know something is wrong. What are you going to do about it? Hardison already knows something isn’t adding up. You gonna pop him like a sacrificial lamb and save your own skin?” He sounded really angry, so angry that Tony was legitimately worried for a second.

“I needed your friend because I needed someone to do the initial stages. Hacking isn’t just typing in a computer. Especially for paranoid organizations like SHIELD you have to access things from their physical location. I am being watched, I cannot go to their physical location, but your friend can and he did.” He explained. “Now that he’s laid the groundwork a little, I can take on a much bigger role or to be more specific others can, if we let them. Talk to him, tell him how dangerous it can be and tell him that he can’t do it alone. It will be better coming from you than it would from me.”

“So what? You’re gonna have a hacker army take on SHIELD?”

Tony sighed and took a swig of the chlorophyll. “SHIELD was supposed to be good, otherwise my old man would never support it. It has been twisted from the inside, there are dangerous people pulling the strings, hiding in its darkness. We need to bring them into the light. It cannot be done in a day, it cannot be done by one person alone. So yes if that’s what it takes I’m gonna have a hacker army take on SHIELD.” He replied, face set in stone. By the time HYDRA had been found out in the future it was too late, and as much as he hated the way Rogers had handled it, they simply did not have time. Even he couldn’t have done much at that point, although he would have appreciated some heads up about it.

“That could work.” Elliot acquiesced. “Would’ve been nice had he not been involved though.”

“He was always going to be a target Elliot, mainly because of his association with you. At least this way he has some sort of upper hand, he has Leverage.” He was grinning broadly as the hitter scowled.

“Just how much do you know about us?” He asked.

“Oh, you lot clean up good but I’ve always been too curious for my own good, especially if it concerns Sophie, isn’t that what she’s going by now.” He replied. “It’s a good thing you guys are doing. I will truly be afraid if you decide to come after me.”

Elliot smirked at him, his tone light. “She got you huh.”

“A long time ago. You should ask her to tell you about it sometime. It’s quite the story.” He put his hands on the table. “So about the security…”

* * *

He could see Pepper and Natasha sitting together discussing something or other as he entered the room. Last time Pepper had taken an instant liking to her, the reveal that she was a spy notwithstanding, but this time the trust was less. He locked eyes at Happy who was over at the counter, his attention on the two women, and beckoned him over.

“Oh, Tony Dr. Strange called when you were away.” Pepper informed him. He could see Natasha’s largely blank expression filled with curiosity, one that he wouldn’t have spotted had he not been so familiar with her in the future.

“He did? What did he say?” He asked, curious himself, sitting down on the opposite couch. Stephen rarely did call now that he could just portal in, so it was either cementing their alibi or he really did want something.

“Just that his teacher was thinking about accepting your offer. What did you offer Tony?”

“They’re helping him so much Pep so I offered my services any way I could. They don’t want monetary help but technology and the works.” What he had actually offered was better security at protecting their artefacts, they still worried him. He added to Pepper's incredulous gaze. “They’re monks, Pep, not Amish. And besides FRIDAY’s with him, I cannot leave my baby girl there without upping their technology by a lot.”

Tony handed Happy the tablet with all the notes on their Security that Elliot had given as he came closer and then turned to face Pepper and the spy. “So, let’s get this over with.” He said, changing the topic, his tone light. “I can’t wait until you’re my boss, Pep.”

“I need your impression.” Natasha said and tried to hand him the documents but Pepper stopped her.

“Put it on the table, he doesn’t like to be handed things.” She instructed and Natasha did so.

When everything was all done, he regarded her with a searching gaze. “You seem like a capable young woman. I’m looking for an assistant, if you’re interested…” He let it linger. He could feel Happy’s eyes digging at him but he ignored it.

“I’ll think about it. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?” She asked, more flirtatious than he remembered her being.

“Yes, that will be all Ms. Rushman.” Pepper interjected and Natasha left.

Happy waited a minute after she was gone and tried to ask. “Boss is that-” Tony silenced him with a hand and their usual gesture for situations like these. Tony took the StarkPad from the table and instructed JARVIS to scan for bugs. It was a tense minute or two before JARVIS notified them that they were no bugs.

“I didn’t think they would be this obvious but couldn’t hurt to check.” He said in lieu of an explanation.

“What’s going on Tony?” Pepper asked.

“He just asked a SHIELD spy to be his assistant.” Happy grumbled.

“SHIELD? What? Are you sure? You thought she was a honeypot. I thought it was going to be like that time with Jenny.” She asked.

“Yeah.” He replied. “I suppose that’s as good a cover as any, but yeah the guy we had over, Spencer id-ed her. Natasha Romanoff, ex Russian assassin now SHIELD spy.”

“An assassin?” Pepper asked, her voice choked, her eyes fearful.

“Yeah. I’m getting a security detail for you. Can't be too careful."

"Is it wise to make her your assistant then." Pepper asked.

“I don’t think SHIELD will become this pissy just cause I refused to use their handwritten notes. They clearly want something from me and she’s the best way to figure out what." Tony explained. "We absolutely cannot let her know that we are onto her. We need to hold on to this advantage for as long as we can.”

“But… assassin…” Pepper looked fearful.

“According to Spencer, SHIELD mostly uses her for infiltration.” He tried to console her. “I don’t think she’ll ever do anything to break her cover. I fully intend to play this like the time with Jenny, Pep. You with me?”

Pepper laughed a bitter laugh. “You will get me killed someday Tony but I will still get up and stand by your side.” Tony couldn’t help but smile.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony couldn’t stop the gnawing feeling of apprehension as he stepped into the hotel. He hid it well from the flashes of cameras but he was nervous. The Monaco Grand Prix was going to start and Vanko was going to make an appearance. He had thought of everything but he couldn’t help but worry.

The Monaco Police were on standby. He’d said that this was his first public appearance since Iron Man and should anything happen, first priority was evacuation of the spectators, so they were ready. He was getting quite the reputation of being a paranoid bastard, everyone was still talking about the security measures he’d installed in the Expo. This time nothing would stop the expo from going on all year round, he’d decided and followed through with everything he could think of and more.

Natasha was guiding him through the crowd, still an efficient assistant as he remembered her being. His plastered smile threatened to fall as he saw Justin Hammer talking to Christine Everheart. That bastard had almost ruined everything last time around, and will do so again if given half the chance. He continued smiling as he was led towards the duo. He ignored Justin’s remarks and instead focused on Christine, who’d already taken the opportunity to ask him about the Senate Hearing.

“Why yes, Miss. Everheart.” He replied. “It is the first time we’ve seen each other since the Senate Hearing. As grateful as I am to Hammer Industries for equipping our troops while SI focuses better on protecting them, I can’t in good conscience endorse their futile attempts at recreating Iron Man armour. Their last test pilot survived. But what about the next one? What happens when someone gets hurt because of you Justin?” He smiled as he directed the question towards the man. Hammer was floundering, just as he expected him to. That would change the narrative a little, he thought and left them there.

Natasha was leading him towards something or other. Pepper was beside him, being congratulated on her promotion. It was a similar sight, but hopefully the similarities would end there. He smiled as he spotted her in the bar. Tasking Natasha with getting the corner table for him, he went on over to the bar.

“Well, fancy seeing you here, Jenny. Sorry, is it Sophie now?” He asked. She looked like she belonged in the room, she always did.

“Hello Tony. It has been a while.” She greeted, the huge hat hiding most of her face, but he could see a small smile on her face. “Right now, it’s Charlotte.”

“It is a pleasure to see you again, My Lady.” He said, kissing her gloved hand. Natasha made her appearance then, to notify him of the table, he figured.

He brushed her off. “Let Pepper know that I’m with Lady Macbeth and that I’ll be there in a while.”

“You are not going to let that go, are you?” She asked.

“You were frankly one of the best I had ever seen, that experience in the rundown theatre was odd to say the least.” He replied.

“You’ve been talking to my friends a lot lately.” She accused him, taking a sip of her drink and fully facing him now.

“Your friends are exceptionally talented.”

“Is that why you’re here, Tony? Because I too am exceptionally talented.” She asked.

“You were good enough to con me back then. I know you’ve gotten better.” He said sincerely. “I’ve been hearing some worrying rumors lately. Rich CEO messing with biological agents, taking advantage of people in precarious positions. Seems to be right up the alley of you and your little group.”

She looked at him unbelieving, he continued. “I’m not even sure what’s going on. From what I’ve been able to find, I know it has the potential to be bad.” Killian was dangerous, even at this point in time, and he was utterly powerless against him.

“If it’s that serious why haven’t you done anything about it?”

“Oh you know me, the irrational hatred I inspire in people is legendary. I could very well drive him to create Godzilla or whatever.” He replied. He didn’t want to even look at the direction of Killian, worried he would retaliate tenfold. Pepper with Extremis still haunted his nightmares.

“What did you do?”

“The grave error of not listening to his million dollar idea while I was drunk at New Year’s Eve.” He replied. He had gradually come to accept that he wasn’t responsible for what Killian did. All of his enemies seemed to be driven by their hatred of him.

“Sounds like a fun one.” She muttered.

“It would definitely be dangerous.” He spotted Natasha coming closer. Seeing his expression, she turned forwards, hiding from the spy. “Are you interested?” He asked.

“Right now, I’m on a vacation. Terribly not interested in doing anything, I’m afraid.” She replied.

He nodded and turned towards Natasha. “Yes, Natalia, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Natalie, Mr. Stark.” She replied, frowning. “Miss. Potts is asking if she is the reason you came to Monaco.” She sounded curious.

“It isn’t.” Sophie replied. “He’s not surprised to see me here but he isn’t here for me. There is something else brewing in that head of yours Tony.”

He laughed. “It’s amazing how you see through me.” He commented. “I always have something brewing in my head.”

“You like to appear all mysterious and behave like an utter bastard but I like to think that after all we’ve been through I can read you.”

“That’s what everyone likes to think.” He replied. “You might be the closest. You might be the one who could actually ruin me.”

“You’re giving me too much credit, Tony. You’re Iron Man, the only person that’s going to ruin you is yourself.”

Tony bowed his head in acquiescence. “Always nice to meet someone who isn’t a fan.” From the corner of his eyes, he could see Natasha eying their exchange with interest.

“I’ll be there in a while Nancy.” He told her, every inch the sleazy condescending bastard he was and shooed her away.

“You know I used to get so annoyed when you did that to me.” Sophie mused as Natasha was leaving. “How many names did you call me by when I was there.”

“All of them.” He replied after he was sure Natasha wasn’t in hearing range. “Let you wonder if I was just being an asshole or if I knew things I shouldn’t. It’s my speciality.” The TV suddenly took his attention as Vanko appeared on the racetracks.

“Well, it looks like Iron Man is needed.” Sophie commented as she followed his gaze.

“So it seems.” He answered and slid a thumb drive across the bar. “I need to go now. But should you ever be interested…” He let that linger and left. Happy was already making his way towards him with the briefcase-suit. The show was about to start.

* * *

His precautions had paid off, he realized as Vanko was the only one who remained in the racetrack. The police had moved fast, instructing the audience to exit in a calm manner. A couple of racecar drivers hadn’t fared so well, having been caught in Vanko’s whips, but Tony was sure they would live. There hadn’t been any casualties the first time. Vanko’s mission was to show the world that Tony wasn’t the only one capable of making the suits. He had lost the minute Vanko had shown up with a working arc reactor.

He smiled even more as he realized one of the cars Vanko had tried to split in half belonged to SI. Shooting a quick message to JARVIS he touched down on the track. From inside his helmet, he could see the small device he had retrofitted inside the car crawl towards Vanko.

“That’s some good reproduction you’ve got there. If you hadn’t tried to attack all these people, I would’ve given you a job.” He said, partly to rile the man and keep his attention away from the tiny thing making its way towards him, and partly to put on a damn good show. There were cameras everywhere in this racetrack, all cameras that would’ve been used to record the race were now showing their interactions in full detail.

Vanko didn’t reply, he just growled and tried to attack, whips sweeping in a circle, narrowly missing him. He flew upstairs and slowly closed the gap between them, the device was almost in place now, he just had to stall for a bit. “Is that all you got? Whips?” He mocked, dodging the frankly terrifying whips. Vanko was silent, as he knew he would be. The device was ready now, as close as it could get, though Vanko was unaware.

The next time the whips came closer, he grabbed both of them, his reinforced hands easily absorbing the energy and dragged Vanko and threw him on the ground. He flew a tiny bit further, just managing to get out of range as JARVIS activated the device. The arc reactor flickered a little just as Vanko collided with the ground, looking to all who were concerned as if it was damaged during the collision.

“I think I’ll hold off on the job offer.” He drawled as he inched closer. “Looks like your attempt is no good either.” Vanko looked surprised to see the light flicker, not understanding what went wrong. The reactor kept flickering, the device leaching power off of Vanko’s suit. It wasn’t much but it would be enough to ascertain that it didn’t compare to Tony’s suits.

Tony lunged again, grabbing the barely glowing whips and inching Vanko closer to him, the small device scurried from Vanko to him, hiding within the Iron Man suit, unbeknownst to anyone else but him. He let his helmet retract as he made a show of looking at the arc reactor in his chest with interest and pretended not to notice the fact that one whip was already uncoiled. Just as he clasped the reactor and pulled it away, Vanko struck, the whip putting a gash in his face. He took the reactor and let the police take Vanko.

There was no manic laughter this time, no proclamations that Tony had lost. He supposed Vanko was still in shock over his reactor failing. That had changed the narrative. Instead of being someone else with the capability of creating the suits, Vanko had become just another schmuck who thought he could create them but had ultimately failed, his failure more public than anyone else. His quest to discredit him and make him bleed ending in a catastrophic failure. He had bled of course, but in a more literal sense, in a way he could use to his advantage.

He went on over to the cars which had been damaged when Vanko had first made his entry. Helmet out, the gash on his cheek bleeding, he made quite the picture as he focused on helping the ones who’d been injured. After he had made sure the drivers were all right, he went on over to the police commissioner who was watching his men lead Vanko to the van, cuffed and bound.

“Your paranoia seems to have paid off Mr. Stark.” The commissioner said. “I thought it was going to be an exercise in futility, but without your warnings there’s no saying what would’ve happened here.”

“With all that has happened, I can’t help but be paranoid.” Tony replied. “Might be a good idea to keep an extra watch on him. He must’ve had someone’s help to get to this racetrack.” The commissioner nodded and left.

* * *

It wasn’t so bad, he thought as he sat on the plane watching the news. There was some speculation about who the man was, but ultimately none were too interested in him. He was keeping extra watch on Hammer just to be sure. Even if nothing came of that and Vanko still got out, he was prepared. He didn’t like letting events continue on as it had last time around, but short of actually killing Vanko, he couldn’t do anything.

The photo of him helping people out was well on its way to going viral, JARVIS’s considerable efforts helping that along. Everything was going just as he intended, so he just couldn’t help but think that the other shoe would drop.

Pepper sat down in front of him so he turned the TV off and faced her. She had a curious expression on her face, as if she was trying to figure something out. This went so well, almost too well, he must’ve come off really suspicious. “Something on your mind, Pep?” He asked.

“It’s just- You’ve been really really responsible lately. I’ve never seen you as professional as you were in the senate hearing. And now this- it’s almost like you knew this was coming.” He had to give it to her, she really was something.

“It’s not a stretch Pep.” He replied, twirling the glass with kale juice around. “This was my first public appearance after the whole announcing to everyone that I am Iron Man thing. The Expo is as secure as can be, so this is the only place that someone would be able to get me.” He explained. He was going to add even more security measures now, Vanko had given him a perfect excuse to be more paranoid.

“That’s not it, Tony. This was the perfect spot, wide racetracks and everyone were evacuated really fast. You couldn’t have planned this any better than you did.”

“There’s always someone wanting to pick a fight with me, Pep. It wasn’t a question of If, but a question of When.” He could hear Natasha enter then, and fell silent. Pepper wordlessly understood.

“Rushman.” He barked. “Cancel all my public appearances, anything on my schedule after today, just send an apology to everyone and be sure to mention that I’m worried about people attacking me.”

“Even your birthday party, Tony?” Pepper asked, amused.

“That my dear Pepper, would send the wrong message. It would tell people that we are scared-” He started but Pepper interrupted him.

“Which we are.”

“Of course we are. But there’s a certain image I need to keep up with, a show of strength at this dark hour if you will. Let people know Tony Stark will remain unfazed and all that.”

Natasha nodded. “There’s only one meeting with Col. Rhodes listed for today Mr. Stark. Should I cancel that too?”

“As much as I would like to blow the generals off, I can’t. Tell Rhodey that I’ll meet him at my office after we land.”

“Oh. Doctor Strange has arrived at Malibu, Mr. Stark.” Natasha said after a while, reading from a notification on her StarkPad. She was curious about Stephen, he could tell. Tony nodded noncommittally while inside he was excited. Pepper straightened and turned to him.

“It would be nice to see him again.” She said. “Where is he planning to stay?”

“Oh, I offered him a place to stay. He’s only making this trip because of me so I figured. Besides, hotels in Malibu are expensive.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Like Dr. Strange cannot afford a hotel in Malibu.”

“No idea what you’re talking about Pep.” He replied, a smile playing at his lips. “Should nothing like today happen, I’ll also be leaving with him. We need to plan that.”

“Already done.” Pepper replied. “Our R&D is fully efficient without you Tony and should anything happen you could always video conference from Nepal. We are fully ahead of new product designs and Stark Expo is also going brilliantly.”

Tony smiled at Pepper. “Making you CEO was the best decision I’ve ever made. Should’ve done that earlier.”

“I’m glad you didn’t do it earlier.” Pepper replied. “The last 6 months really helped you know. I’m glad you didn’t chuck me into the water and waited for me to swim.”

“Oh, but you would’ve swam like a fish Pep.” Tony replied, and Pepper had in a lifetime gone past. Pepper had been as brilliant then as she was now, but he was glad he could spare her some of the pain.

He looked at the green juice before him and grimaced. “Do we have any of those amazing teas on board? This stuff is outright disgusting.” He complained.

Pepper laughed and handed him a thermos. He wordlessly thanked her.

* * *

“You’ve been playing us like a fiddle, son. I’m not sure whether to be impressed or annoyed.” The general before him said, slight respect evident in his face. Rhodey sat impassively beside the general.

“I would’ve thought you would be used to my eccentric ways, General Landry.” He replied.

“If this was that, I would’ve been. But you’ve been ten steps ahead every time. Col Rhodes tells me that you had him try on one of your suits. You’ve been very protective of them and you knew the senate hearing was coming.”

“It’s not too hard to figure that part out. People have always wanted something from me ever since I was young, General, why would this be different.” He said as he put the contract on the table. “Look this over. If that is acceptable to the military, we can do business.”

The General took the contract from the table and looked it over. “I’ll have our lawyers take a look.” He finally said. “Can I ask why? Why let the Hearing continue on if you were planning on doing this? Why not give us this from the start?”

“Everything has its own pace, General. If I did this from the beginning, then there is a chance that you would ask for more. If I did this later, it would be seen as a sign of submission, that I could be cowed. I’ve been nothing but reasonable and having that Hearing in spite of that tells people more than anything. I knew that the military wanted my suits, they would always want them. This gives me control over how you get it and what you do with it. Stark weapons have hurt people and I will not let that happen again.”

The General nodded and left. Rhodey made no move to leave and after General Landry was well gone, he relaxed a little. “I was worried that I was wrong. That I had misread the situation.” He confessed.

“I would never leave you like that Platypus.” Tony replied. “I redesigned the Mark II specifically with you in mind.”

“But you didn’t have to do that. There would be some grumbling about it but they would’ve just folded you into existing command. You’ve been cooperative, you’ve been so different.”

Tony laughed as he rose up. “I think the word you’re looking for is responsible Rhodey.” He started to walk out, Rhodey walking beside him. “I’ve had years of personality changes crammed into a year, I’m bound to be different.” He replied truthfully. Rhodey understood despite not knowing exactly what he was talking about.

“So I finally get to meet your doctor friend huh. I think I’m the only one that hasn’t actually met him.” He said as they exited his office. He could feel Natasha following their conversation.

“Yeah.” He was about to add something more but the sudden appearance of a furious Hank Pym stopped him in his tracks. He could see a couple of security guards running after him.

“HOW DARE YOU STARK-” Pym started but thankfully his security reached there in time. “Let go of me.” Pym shouted and kept flailing like a fish but the man held him down. Everybody currently on the floor was looking at the commotion. Tony was more concerned about Natasha. This was a disaster.

“I’m so sorry Mr. Stark.” The other security guard was apologizing. “He managed to incapacitate several guards.”

“It’s all right.” He consoled the man. “Just get him to my office.”

Rhodey looked at him confused as did everyone else. “If I don’t talk with him now he’s going to call every news station and it’s gonna be a hassle on PR.” He answered the unasked question. “I can deal with one old fossil.”

Pym kept shouting obscenities at him as the guard dragged him towards his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really happy with this chapter, must've edited this a thousand times. I'm starting to realize that I can't write action. Don't particularly like rehashing canon but there's really no way to do this.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony entered his office and locked the door, it instantly fogged up hiding them from outside view. He knew JARVIS had already made sure that they couldn’t be heard from outside and there were no bugs there. “I am going to sue you for the assault of my employees.” He said as he entered.

“I wouldn’t have had to do that if you hadn’t tried to take my daughter away from me, Stark. How dare you.” Pym started shouting at him.

“First of all your daughter hates you so much already, that isn’t on me. Second I’m not Howard, I know you’re old and wrinkly but you do know that right.”

“You’re a Stark, all Starks are the same.”

Tony let out a deep sigh. “Should’ve known you’re already fully senile.” He debated whether he should have had him thrown out. As satisfying as that would be, it would be bad in the long run. “How long are you going to do that Pym? Are you going to hate my children too? My grandchildren? How many more generations of Starks are going to pay for something Howard did?” He was at his wits end with this. Lang’s words repeated inside his head every time he looked at Pym.

The man fell silent at that. After a while, he spoke up. “I’m not here for something Howard did. You shouldn’t have told Hope about SHIELD, about Ant-Man.”

Tony sat down in his chair and leveled Pym with a glare. “My current assistant is a SHIELD spy so thank you so much for that.” Pym looked a little alarmed at that. “I’m not interested in that shrink ray of yours. My old man might’ve been but my suit is superior, I have no need for yours. Hope has a right to know what happened to her mother. Hiding it hasn’t worked out for you well, she hates your guts. Tell her, repair your relationship a little.”

“And what? You’re doing this from the bottom of your heart? Don’t bullshit me Stark.”

“I’m doing this because I wish someone had told me my parent’s death wasn’t an accident.” He snapped. The old man before him stilled, his face going through so many different expressions in the short time span and finally settling on confusion with a hint of softness Tony wasn’t sure he read right. Tony kept on glaring at him. “Don’t tell me that you believe that ridiculous story Pym? He works for a super secret organization and he dies in a fucking car crash.”

“I thought he was drunk.” Pym admitted. Tony knew most people had thought that, himself included. “You think SHIELD is involved with that?”

“He was doing something for SHIELD before he died.” He admitted as he slumped in his seat and let out a deep sigh. “Just do whatever you came to do Pym, tell anyone who would listen whatever you want about me, but leave me alone. The only reason I’m even talking to you is because I don’t want you revealing that I know more about SHIELD that I’m letting on.”

The other man was oddly silent now. “I didn’t want Hope to know that I had failed her, that I was the reason her mother wasn’t there. I’ve been working on a way to bring her back but it hasn’t been working.” He confessed. Tony looked at him, wondering why the man was telling him all that.

“Then go and tell her that Pym not me.” He pointed out. The man nodded but made no motion to leave.

“How sure are you that SHIELD had something to do with it? And why are you just letting a SHIELD spy in your close circle.”

“Look Pym, I didn’t know SHIELD existed until they approached me after Afghanistan. They wanted to know how I escaped and after the whole deal with Iron Monger they provided me with an alibi. I rejected them because they felt shady and I knew working with them was a bad idea.” Pym nodded, having had his own experiences regarding that. Tony continued. “They want my suits, that’s obvious. I’m letting the spy in because that way I have some semblance of control over what they receive, that way I have the upper hand. Well, at least I did until you came in screaming and ruined everything.”

“I haven’t ruined everything. The whole world knows you tried to offer Hope a job and failed miserably, there’s your alibi.” He pointed out. “Besides she also told me that you’ve been buying our stocks but I don’t think you want anyone to know about that right now.”

“Your board hates you Pym. You’re old and your company is dying.” He pointed out.

“I know.” The old man countered. “They will try to force me out of my own company.”

“Yeah they will. Stane tried that with me, but he failed. Your ex protege might just succeed in your case. What will you do then?”

Pym looked at him suspiciously. “Is that why you did the whole thing with Hope? I thought the job thing was just a cover to tell her all of my secrets. Did you just call her to provide another alternative if i’m out?”

Tony nodded. “Your daughter is a smart woman. If she actually became CEO of Pym Technologies, I would have a lot more leeway. We could make a whole big thing about not continuing this pointless rivalry and your company would actually survive.”

“Why are you so focused on helping me?” Pym asked.

The real reason was the fact that he hated Darren Cross and his shady dealings with HYDRA. But he couldn’t tell Pym that, HYDRA was deep into SHIELD and all Cross could be accused of right now is being a jerk. “I don’t care about you Pym. You are inconsequential. But your daughter is brilliant and she shouldn’t pay for your sins. I have learned the hard way that people will always blame me for Howard’s mistakes, I know what it’s like to live that life. I will never wish that upon anyone else.” The old man at least had the decency to look sheepish at that.

“I want to help you.” Tony looked at Pym, surprised more than anything in his life. “You’re right. My quarrel is with Howard and not you. Everything you’ve done has helped me, especially considering the suits. You’re going through the same thing I once did and I ended up having to lock the suit up and deny its existence. I don’t want that to happen to you. You’re doing more good with them than I ever did.”

Tony couldn’t reply. His brain felt like it was short-circuited. Hadn’t this been the same man who’d cursed him with every breath once and now he was offering his help. How could a small conversation with someone change this much. He just stared at the man, trying to reconcile the Hank Pym before him to the one in the future. He supposed that he might have let that one go on for a while because Pym looked annoyed.

“Don’t make me regret this Stark. I’m not giving you my suit but other than that, I’ll help with SHIELD.”

“How many times do I have to say this Pym, I don’t want your suit. All it can do is shrink, I’ve designed something far better.”

“Your suit is nothing but cute technology. Mine bends the very law of reality.” Pym countered back. Tony rolled his eyes.

“And what have you done since then? You might have been the pioneer of innovation once but now you’re a sad old man who should’ve retired 10 years ago.”

Tony kept on smiling as Pym looked absolutely furious at that. He seemed to calm himself down and resist the urge to punch Tony. “You’re an asshole Stark but you’re right. I should’ve left the company to Hope a long time ago.”

“Yeah, I did it, why can’t you? I put Pepper in charge and now I’m free to create whatever I want.” Tony replied, smirking. He knew that would piss Pym off, the man was as much an inventor as he was.

Pym nodded and looked at him oddly, his eyes fixating on the ascot around his neck. It was a poor fashion choice, sure but it really helped in hiding the not dying thing in plain sight. “Are you dying from Palladium Poisoning?” He asked point blank.

Tony wasn’t sure how to deal with this. On one hand, he didn’t want anyone to know the truth, on the other hand Pym would be helpful in his ‘rediscovery of Starkium’ considering the fact that he actually knew Howard.

When he didn’t reply, Pym continued. “You give off the impression that you are. The reactor is powered by Palladium, and that thing would have to be deep in your chest just for the shrapnels from the Jericho missile. You’ve also shown some symptoms of it, but you wouldn’t be so calm and logical if you were actually dying.”

Tony had to give it to the old man, he really was preceptive. “It’s complicated.” He finally settled on. “I have many enemies Pym, it would be advantageous for me to appear weaker than I actually am.” The answer was as confusing as he could give but Pym nodded.

Pym got up and looked towards the door. “What are you going to do about the SHIELD spy outside the door? How do you want me to play this?”

“Absolutely nothing. Just don’t let her know that I’m onto her and you can go back to hating me as much as you want.”

* * *

He realized he was quite uncomfortable with Natasha as they drove towards his mansion. He’d been close to her, he’d thought of her as a friend, but now looking at this version of Natasha, the shrewd spy pretending to be a demure assistant, he wondered how much of their interaction in the future was a sham. Was she only playing a role like she was now?

If he did not have future knowledge he wouldn’t have thought of her as anything but his assistant. He did not the first time around, she was mysterious and definitely suspicious, but ultimately she was just _Natalie Rushman_. That meeting in the diner had infuriated him, he had credited the heavy metal in his bloodstream with his inability to pick up the fact that she was a SHIELD spy but now watching her work he couldn’t be sure.

“Everything all right Mr. Stark?” She asked.

He startled, did she see something wrong with him? Was everything he had planned going down the drain? He rubbed his eyes, letting the tiredness he was feeling shine through. When he looked up, He could see Happy looking at him through the mirror, concern lined in his face.

“I’m fine.” He replied, not feeling fine. A thousand things were racing in his mind, a thousand ways all of this could go wrong. “That stubborn old man just took a lot out of me, that’s all.” That was partially true, he hoped that it would fool Natasha.

“You should’ve just thrown him out Boss.” Happy commented. “You didn’t have to indulge him.”

“We cannot live with hate forever Happy. I told his daughter that I’m willing to work with her. I can’t say that and throw him out. I have to be civil.”

“Yeah but he still hates you.” He pointed out.

“If there’s one certainty in life, it’s that people will always hate me Hap. Whether it be for a real slight or an imagined. I’m a Stark after all. I’ve learned to live with it.” He looked at Natasha who was following his words with great interest. “Speaking of that, get one invite to Hope Van Dyne. Not Pym, just her.”

She nodded and went back to tapping in her StarkPad. He looked over at Happy, who was still concerned but thankfully he didn’t ask anything else. It was taking all of his power to keep Natasha in the dark, had he not been so familiar with her in the future he doubted he would have succeeded.

“Do we have any of Stephen’s tea in the car Hap?” He asked. “That stuff picks me right up.”

“I’m sorry Boss.” Happy replied as he turned his eyes back to the road. “But we’re almost there and the good doctor has already settled in. That might help more than the tea Boss.” His voice had just a tiny amount of teasing in it. Tony ignored it.

He did not realize how tired he was when he stepped out of the car. He stifled a yawn as he stepped inside, Natasha falling in behind him. He visibly perked up as he spotted Stephen on the couch talking with Pepper. He could tell that she was absolutely charmed with him.

“Oh hey Tony.” She greeted him as he entered. Stephen looked up and graced him with the biggest smile.

“It’s good to physically see you again Dr. Stark.” He greeted, playfulness etched in his voice.

He couldn’t help the smile that graced his lips. “And you too Dr. Strange. I hope your return to civilization has been pleasant.”

Stephen laughed and so did Pepper. “From what I hear it isn’t so bad there.” Pepper said. “He makes it sound so peaceful and calm. I might just take a trip sometime.”

Tony fake gasped as he sat down. “Not you too Pepper. Stephen is already a walking stereotype, I will destroy the world before you turn _Live, Laugh, Love_ on me.” He was absolutely entranced by the way Stephen laughed, he realized suddenly.

"You didn't seem to mind it so much last time we talked." Stephen pointed out, still smiling that entrancing smile of his.

"It's those damn robes Stephen. They make you look even sexier than you already are." He replied, accentuating his words with the look he was giving him. Natasha cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable and being his attention back to the present. He shot her a small glare and set out to introduce them.

“Oh, that’s Natalie Rushman my assistant. Natalie, Dr. Stephen Strange, The Surgeon who sold his Ferrari.” He introduced them two. Stephen rolled his eyes at the introduction, but got up to greet her poised and perfect, no hint that he recognized the famous Black Widow.

“Lovely to meet you Ms. Rushman.” Stephen greeted her warmly. She did the same.

“So, what sordid tales have you two been talking about?” He asked, genuinely curious. He could tell that Natasha was too, even if to others all it looked like was polite interest.

“Oh, he was just telling me all about the hijinks Friday and this guy Levi got up to.” Pepper explained. He smiled, partly because of how inordinately proud he was of Friday, and partly because he loved hearing about those stories.

“Those two will destroy the world one day and I will be left staring at the ashes cursing the day I met you.” Stephen declared. Tony laughed at that.

“She takes after me in that regard. Besides you love her.”

Stephen shrugged at that and nodded. “She is brilliant Tony. Everybody loves her, a trait distinctly not from you.”

Tony laughed. “Are you saying you don’t love me Doctor? That might just break my heart.” He replied, the familiarity and ease he felt with Stephen shining through. He could see Pepper watching the scene before her with a smile on her face from the corner of his eyes.

“Of course not Doctor.” Stephen replied. “What possible reason could I ever have for that? All you’ve ever done is interrupt me by calling a dozen times.” He said, sarcasm dripping but his tone playful.

Tony laughed, still gazing at the wonderful man in front of him. “You should’ve said something then Doctor. If I had known you missed me, I would’ve come to you.” He replied. He could see Pepper roll her eyes at that.

“Ms. Van Dyne has RSVPd Mr. Stark.” Natasha’s said and he got his focus back on the present and on her.

“You invited her?” Pepper asked, surprised. “I did hear that Pym had appeared at SI. What happened Tony?”

“Oh the usual. He accused me of trying to take his daughter away from him. I told him he was a senile old fool who couldn’t tell me apart from Howard and that me and her would not continue this pointless fight of his. I told him that he was going to die soon and leave a legacy of hatred behind for his daughter to clean up. He called my life’s greatest work ‘cute’ and we almost killed each other with words alone.” He summarized. “But it’s all good now. I don’t have to like him but I can be civil.” He added.

Pepper stared at him in shock and so did Happy. After a moment, she turned to Stephen and said simply. “I fully credit you for his growth.”

Stephen looked at her and back at Tony and said. “Trauma has a way of changing you Pepper. And everything Tony has been through lately changed him more than we could ever realize. When you see your life flashing before you, it puts many things into perspective.”

Tony swallowed, and changed the topic. “You know I had a few things I wanted to show you, now that you are finally physically here.” He turned towards pepper. “You and Natalia here can handle the whole party planning thing right?”

Pepper nodded. “Yeah we got it. You two geniuses have fun.”

“Right then onward to my lab Dr. Strange.” He said getting up, Stephen followed him.

“Lead the way Dr. Stark.”


	12. Chapter 12

Tony looked at the green paste in the bowl and cautiously took a sniff. It didn’t smell as bad as he had thought it would. He put it down on the coffee table as Stephen entered carrying a small brush. “I thought this stuff was supposed to smell disgusting.” He commented as he sat down on the couch.

“Most natural herbs are actually very aromatic.” Stephen replied as Tony continued opening the buttons on his shirt. The blue light of the arc reactor shone from his chest, the patterns indicating palladium poisoning shone outwards. “They look hyper realistic.” Stephen commented, peering closer to take a better look.

“I remember this in vivid detail, every scar, every marking.” Tony simply said.

Stephen nodded, still inspecting the arc reactor. “Is it not possible to take this thing out? After Loki I mean. I do not like the thought of this being inside your chest.”

“I did once.” Tony replied. “It was incredibly risky. I don’t know if it would be possible this time around.” He confessed looking straight into Stephen’s eyes.

Stephen nodded and dragged a stool to sit directly in front of Tony. Taking the bowl from the coffee table he set out to apply them directly to the scars. “I don’t know if this will even work. This feels like bullshit to me.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Of course it does. It is bullshit. But they don’t know that. They don’t know what this is.”

“I understand that.” Stephen sounded annoyed. “You’re giving them little bits of information while making it appear like there’s a whole lot they don’t know. You’re counting on them to create a narrative that fits. You’re working on a lot of assumptions here. You’re not omnipotent Tony, it might not work.”

“I know how she works Stephen. At this point in time I know her far better than she knows me.” He replied. “The key is timing, controlling what information they get and only revealing more later. They already suspect my friendship with you is just a cover for the palladium poisoning. Why not confirm it?”

“Regardless, what other choice do we even have.” Stephen added, continuing to apply the paste.

“Actually, that may have changed.” Tony confessed and to Stephen’s inquisitive look added. “Hank Pym happened. He worked closely with my father, probably knows about Starkium and definitely knows about Palladium Poisoning.”

“And you invited his daughter. I assume she would mention something that her father said in passing and you would have an epiphany.” Stephen commented in a deadpan voice. Tony laughed. “It’s all very predictable Tony.”

“To you it is.” He agreed. “But she is only seeing bits and pieces of a puzzle that doesn’t fit and you have the luxury of seeing the full picture.” He pointed out. Stephen bowed his head in acquiescence.

“Miss Romanoff is on her way Sir.” JARVIS interrupted. “ETA less than two minutes.”

“Showtime.” Tony declared.

Stephen rolled his eyes. “We’ve been running for a while now Tony.” Tony pouted and looked at him, turning on the full puppy eyes. Stephen laughed as he shook his head. “Alright. Showtime then.”

Stephen took a step back to assess his handiwork and continued applying the paste. “I cannot guarantee you anything Tony. In theory it should work, but obviously it hasn’t been tested yet. However the combined efforts of…”

“Have I told you how sexy you look while talking science.” He commented looking directly at Stephen who smiled in response. Tony took the opportunity to slowly close the already small gap between them. They were inches away when the door opened startling them. He hastily attempted to close his exposed chest, the light still shining through the flimsy material of the shirt. Stephen looked pissed as both of them turned towards the intruder.

Natasha was just standing there, looking startled and embarrassed. “I’m so sorry Mr. Stark. I assumed you were alone.” She apologized. Tony doubted he had ever seen her like that.

“Do you not know how to knock Ms. Rushman?” Stephen asked, his voice a perfect expression of restrained rage. He placed the bowl on the arm of the sofa and turned towards her again, raising a single eloquent eyebrow.

“I- I came to inform Mr. Stark that the party is starting.” She looked over at Tony who’d by now hastily managed to button up his shirt, albeit in wrong order.

He looked at her, annoyance and irritation openly displayed in his face. “I will be there Natalie. You can go now.” She nodded and turned to leave. He slumped down on the couch and looked at Stephen who was glaring at him openly.

Stephen got up and locked the door, making sure that Natasha was gone and turned towards Tony. “You’re a bastard Tony.” He simply said.

Tony laughed as he got up and walked towards Stephen. “You knew that already.” He pointed out. "It made things look genuine. Now, she’s just embarrassed about interrupting us and won’t think about this until I point it out.”

“Still, you could’ve warned me.” Stephen groaned.

“I’ll just have to make it up to you then.” Tony replied and stood up to his toes to kiss him.

* * *

The party was going on in full swing when Tony entered, everyone cheering as they saw him. He greeted some people and grabbed a drink. He made no motion to drink it and instead surveyed his surroundings. He could see Rhodey talking to somebody or other, Pepper was just there nursing a glass of wine and charming people. He smirked as he saw Natasha and made his way towards her.

She saw him approach and turned scarlet. “I’m really really sorry about earlier, Mr. Stark. I didn’t know you were with Dr. Strange.” She apologized again.

“It’s all right Natalie, just don’t let it happen again.” He kept his tone firm but not scathing. She nodded. "This should go without saying but-"

"Don't tell anyone about the blue glow coming out of your chest. Got it." She interrupted him.

He smiled at her. "You are very observant. That's a good skill to have." He commented. "Most people would have follow up questions but you seem to take it in stride."

"I have seen some terrible things in my life Mr. Stark. I know when to keep my mouth shut." She answered.

He was openly shocked at that. It was probably the closest she had come to telling the truth. "Intriguing. Very intriguing Ms. Rushman." As much as he wanted to push this, to make her reveal more. He knew this was a bad idea. "But I've had more than my fill of intrigue lately." He mused and left her there saying polite hellos and mingling around as he walked on.

He spotted Hope a while later and walked on over to her. “Hello, Mr. Stark.” She greeted him. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you Ms. Van Dyne.”

“I don’t know what you said to Hank, but he seems pretty mellowed out after your conversation.” She said, taking a sip of her drink.

He smiled. “I told him some harsh truths he wasn’t ready to hear, told him he needed to tell you. I take it that he will be stepping down soon.”

She nodded. “He came clean to me. There was apparently an accident during a mission and she disappeared.” Her voice got choked up at that. “He says that there’s a chance she might still be alive.”

Tony’s eyes grew wide at the implication. He didn’t know how exactly the Ant-Man suit worked but he could approximate what might have happened. “He did say he was trying to bring her back.”

“He’s been trying a long time.” She said.

Tony nodded. “Maybe it’s time for someone else to continue that search. A fresh set of eyes wouldn’t hurt. You’re just as brilliant as he is, if not more.” He said sincerely.

She shook her head. “He’s not going to let me anywhere near the suit.” She said. “Not after what happened to Mom. That’s why he hid all this from me.”

“I never said anything about his suit.” He pointed out, she looked at him oddly. “Don’t underestimate yourself Hope, you’re smart, talented. Why not make your own?”

She continued looking at him oddly. He laughed. “Should you decide to do it, I would love to help. Even if you only want me there to bounce ideas off of.” He offered.

“Oh, I can imagine his screeches then.” She said laughing. “He already thinks you want it.”

“I would have no use for it.” He admitted. “I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t encourage you to do this. We’re scientists Hope, creators, innovators. You’re probably the only person in the world who can recreate it, if there’s anything I can do to nudge that along, I would.” He said sincerely.

“It’s a big thing to undertake.” She finally said. Tony hummed in agreement. She changed the subject. “But never mind that. Hank also said something else, I do hope that isn’t true.” She looked at him with a searching gaze.

“Unfortunately it is. But it’s not that bad. I’ll be fine. Although I was hoping for his help in that regard.”

She continued to look at him oddly. “Do you really need his help or do you just want it to appear like he helped?” She asked. Tony chuckled at that. “He says you wouldn’t have been functioning this well had it been serious.” She continued.

“I have some big aces up my sleeve, I’m just not ready to reveal them this soon.” He said mysteriously.

“So, what exactly do you need Hank or me to do?” She asked.

“Nothing, you’ve already done everything. Natalie definitely noticed us talking and it wouldn’t be too hard to assume we talked about Hank Pym. I’m about to have an epiphany any minute now.” He explained.

She laughed at that. “It is quite something watching you work, Tony.”

“Thank you Hope.” He replied sincerely. “Thank you for this illuminating conversation. You might’ve just saved my life here.” He added cheekily. She laughed at that and he walked away from her.

He spotted Stephen talking to Rhodey and walked on towards him. He greeted Rhodey and walked on, mouthing ‘Showtime’ to Stephen as he did so.

He made his way towards one of the locked rooms. He needed to play this right, he needed to be even more suspicious. Natasha had already spotted him leaving his party, she wouldn’t be far behind, if only to confirm her suspicions.

He opened the cigar case containing the palladium cores. Two of them were damaged beyond repair, giving him an unwanted flashback to the last time this had happened. The pain as the things went progressively worse and worse came to the forefront of his mind. The knowledge that SHIELD had known and let it get to the point where he didn’t have much time left to live was not helping matters any.

He had to give it to Fury, the bastard knew how to play the game, how to arrange it so that no matter what happened SHIELD would come out on top. He wondered for the hundredth time what would've happened had he actually died. Would Natasha have killed Pepper and Happy just to make sure that no loose ends remained?

He slumped down on the couch as he heard her footsteps coming closer. Taking a needle from his pocket, he stabbed himself, the chemicals in it showing real discomfort and pain in his face. She entered just as he was closing the cigar box and buttoning up his shirt.

“Are you all right, Mr. Stark?” She asked, taking in his state. He looked horrible, real pain shining through, all of the false bravado he would usually put up gone. The red blood toxicity graphic was only up for a second but he was sure that she noticed it. All in all, it was a passable replica of what had happened last time around.

He swallowed and nodded. “I’m fine Natalie.” He replied but made no motion to get up or even move an inch from his current position.

She came closer to him. He hoped he passed for palladium poisoning, no one who looked like he did could be equated to a beacon of health. He was glad for the chemical in his veins, he wouldn’t have been able to fake this well to fool her.

“You don’t look so good Mr. Stark.” She observed. “Should I call for Ms. Potts or Dr. Strange?”

He swallowed hard and nodded through the pain. “Yes, call Stephen.” He managed.

The words were barely out of his mouth and the door opened again letting Stephen in. “What’s going on Tony? I saw you leave-” He stopped talking as he saw Natasha standing nearby him.

“I was just coming to get you Dr. Strange.” She explained. “Mr. Stark doesn’t look so good.”

Stephen looked at him, his brows furrowed in concern. Tony knew he looked horrible and he knew that Stephen could tell that he wasn’t faking it. “Thank you Ms. Rushman, I’ll take it from here.”

She nodded and left. Stephen waited until she was gone and went over to examine him. “You’re not faking this. What did you do Tony?” He asked.

“What I had to Stephen.” He replied. “She’s damn good, I can’t fake my way through this. She’s going to get Pepper now, seeing my reaction to her finding out about this will tell her more than anything.”

“Least you could do is talk to me before doing something stupid like this. What if something had gone wrong?” He asked, checking his vitals.

“Nothing is going to go wrong. Don’t worry I’ll be fine in a few minutes.” Tony replied, already feeling better. He cracked a smile making Stephen shake his head. “I’m going to rediscover Starkium now, remember, no need to fake anything after that.”

“Regardless, this was stupid. I need to check you over to make sure this wouldn’t have any lasting effects.” Stephen said, his hand glowing up with the runic mandala. He continued scanning his body with magic.

“I didn’t know you could use magic this well in medicine.” He commented as he observed.

“I’m an accomplished sorcerer Tony. I know how to do various things with magic.”

The door suddenly flung open and Pepper entered. One second felt like an eternity as she looked at the magic glowing from Stephen’s hands and the two men looked like deers caught in headlights. Stephen shook himself out of it and the glowing magic disappeared just in time for Rhodey and Happy to enter. Natasha followed soon after.

“Jesus, Tony.” Rhodey exclaimed as he took in his state. He immediately came forward to check on him. Tony gave his best friend a small smile and straightened up, trying to bluster some bravado he didn’t feel.

“What’s going on Tony?” Pepper asked, confused and concerned at the same time.

Tony looked at her and then looked at Natasha behind her. Pepper understood without him having to tell her anything. “I might have been hiding something from you guys.” He said without really saying anything.

Happy raised his eyebrows. “We know Boss. We know something is wrong. We’ve just been waiting for you to tell us what’s been going on.” He said.

Rhodey snorted. “Did not think it was this extreme though.” He muttered. “What’s going on doc? When you said he was going to do something stupid I didn’t anticipate a medical emergency.”

Tony looked at Stephen who just shrugged in reply. “I’m afraid I cannot answer your question fully Colonel. Doctor-Patient confidentiality.” He explained. “And besides it’s something Tony needs to tell you, all of you.”

“Look.” Tony said, getting up and turning to his friends. “I’ve been lying to you guys. I shouldn’t and I don’t particularly like it. I’m not okay, but I will be.” He really didn’t, he wished he could tell them everything. He didn’t want to tell them how bleak the future was and how much they suffered. He was going to make sure that that wouldn’t happen. He also hated pretending to have palladium poisoning.

“As pleasant it is hearing honest truth come out of his mouth. We might need to table this discussion for later.” Stephen interjected. “There are certain things Tony needs to do and unfortunately time doesn’t seem to be on our side.”

Pepper turned towards him. “Is everything going to be all right Dr. Strange?” She asked.

“When has he ever been known to give up?” He replied and then continued. “We need to give Tony some time and space. We will talk about this. I promise you, but not now and not here.”

Happy nodded. “Well as long as the Doc says it's fine.”

“I’ll go deal with the guests. But Tony, Stephen, we will need an explanation for whatever that was.” Tony nodded and they got to leave.

"JARVIS, Buddy? Any good news for me?” He asked while the others were still in earshot.

“Analysis is complete Sir. I believe it could work, if Doctor Strange would verify my findings.” Stephen took the StarkPad from the coffee table and made a show of studying it.

JARVIS closed the door and the two finally relaxed. “This isn’t good.” Stephen said.

“Yeah, no shit Sherlock.” Tony commented as he sat up straighter. “What are we going to tell Pepper? I suppose I could make some stuff about lasers and hologram or something but you weren’t wearing a gauntlet then.” He said, brainstorming how to go from now.

“Or we could just tell her the truth.” Stephen supplied. Tony looked at him in surprise. “We tell her about the Mystic Arts. She’s already suspicious of how close we have gotten in the past few months. Me being a sorcerer would explain it a little.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am Tony. They’re your friends. I trust them.” Tony shot a smile at the man at that. Stephen continued. “Why do all this? Why make it appear like you’re dying?”

Tony straightened up on the couch. “That’s the one thing SHIELD is sure about. If I didn’t direct their focus on this, they would delve deeper. I don’t want that to happen. Stephen, I don’t want them finding out about you or time travel.” He said locking eyes with Stephen. That was his worst nightmare right now.

Stephen nodded, understanding. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Nothing for a few hours. Then I’m due for a joyride in the new suit. I was thinking about making a trip to New Mexico for a friendly chat with Dr. Foster and then stopping for breakfast.”

“Only a few days remaining till Thor shows up.” Stephen commented as he sat down beside Tony. “Looks like we have a few hours to kill until then.”

Tony turned to face him. “Yeah. What do you think we should do?”

“Oh, I might have a few ideas.”


	13. Chapter 13

The gigantic donut was a great place to sit and observe the morning glow, he realized as he munched on a strawberry glazed donut. He was really looking forward to the next interaction, he realized as he enjoyed his donut. Last time around he was at a disadvantage but this time he held all the cards, even the ones Fury and SHIELD didn’t know about.

The meeting with Dr. Foster had also gone great. They had exchanged a few emails prior to this and he had managed to catch up with her in New Mexico. He had said that he had merely stopped by to check if anything was wrong. After being assured that it wasn’t and eliciting a promise to work together one day, he had left. It was fantastic flying in the morning light, enjoying the sounds of a city just waking up.

He pretended not to notice Fury coming closer and closer. He would play this as he had last time around, at least until Natasha showed up. Then the real fun would start. He steeled himself for a conversation with Fury, sarcastic quips and scathing remarks already on the tip of his tongue.

The coffee was just as bad as he remembered but he was going to endure this for now. Fury went on and on about something or the other and Tony just ignored him, making some remarks about not wanting to join his boy band every now and then.

Tony looked at the approaching woman. She cut an impressive figure in the leather catsuit, managing to look alluring as well as dangerous at the same time. He could see Fury smiling from the corner of his eye, no doubt just waiting to reveal just as he was.

“Ah. Agent Romanoff, good of you to join us. I was wondering when Fury was going to bring in his agent on the inside.” He said blandly, loving the change of expression on both of them. “What? Did you think I called you in the ring and stared at you for a whole minute unblinking because you were pretty? I was suspicious of you from the very beginning. I’ve learned to recognize honeypots pretty damn efficiently.” That’s all he’d thought of her in the beginning. A honeypot, to lure him in and steal his designs. Her being a SHIELD Agent had come as a surprise.

“How in the world-” Fury started but Tony interrupted him.

“I had this guy in, just to do a complete overhaul of our security. Can’t be too careful what with Iron Man. Brilliant man, that one, managed to ID you based on nothing but your footsteps.”

“Spencer.” She replied, realization dawning in her face. Fury blanched too.

“Ooh. I sense some love lost there. Anyways, we thought he was talking about a spider at first, I almost had Jarvis scan for one. But he elaborated. Natalia Alinova Romanova, that’s your birth name isn’t it?”

Her face darkened, no doubt thinking about all the various ways of killing him. He paid that no mind and instead turned to look at Fury. “I didn’t know that my rejection on the other night hurt you so much you decided to send an assassin after me, after Pepper.” He all but growled in the end.

“That’s not what this is.” Fury tried to explain, fully cautious of how it looked.

“Save it.” He snapped. “I don’t care what you do to me, but touch a hair on Pepper’s head and I will bury your entire organization before you even know what’s happening.”

“We know you’re dying. Palladium poisoning must be pretty painful.” Fury got right into the point, taking charge of the situation. “Agent Romanoff was stationed to observe you. We can help you Stark.”

“And what? You have a miracle cure that saves me and makes me indebted to you forever? You’re getting pretty desperate there Fury.” He couldn’t help but put that jab in. He pretended not to notice Natasha going out of his line of sight. He wouldn’t be injected with that poison again this time around.

“As a matter of fact we do. Hit him.” His instincts working with him, he grabbed Natasha’s hand just as it was inches away from his neck. She was strong, but no match against his suit’s power. “Just to be clear, I’m counting this as attempted murder.” He said coolly as he grabbed the syringe with another hand and crushed it. He so loved watching their faces as they looked on at him, completely destroying their miracle cure. “Sit down Ms. Rushman. Now it’s my time to talk.”

“Your attempt at my life was recorded by the way, I’m pretty sure whatever’s in that syringe was not FDA approved. I could ruin you with just that.”

“It’s a cure Stark. We’re trying to help you. Let us help you.”

“I said I was talking, Fury. What makes you even think I still have Palladium Poisoning. Why your spy actually did walk on while I was getting cured. Do you remember Natalia? You ruined a wonderful moment I was going to have.”

“Doctor Strange cured you?” She asked incredulously.

“Don’t bullshit me Stark.” Fury snapped. “Our scientists have been working for months for a cure. That’s the only thing they could come up with. There is no way your pet doctor found something else.”

“So you knew about this for months and you waited until now to tell me? Good to know how deep your machinations run Fury.” He took a swig of the frankly terrible coffee. “Notice something missing from my neck? Or did you just assume I got exponentially better at applying makeup?” He craned his neck to one side, letting them have a good look at the lack of high tech crossword puzzle there. “I never said I got a chemical cure, Fury.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Natasha interrupted. “You looked terrible last night. There is no way Dr. Strange cured you.”

“I’m not going to tell you two untrustworthy spies all my secrets. I cured myself. Stephen just helped clear my mind a little, helped me counteract some of the worst effects of having palladium in my bloodstream.” He took another swig and just enjoyed this moment.

“Good conversation. You let me know more about your super duper secret organization in five more minutes than I was able to find out in five months.” He was absolutely loving every moment of this. “Now I really should get going. Rushman, don’t be late, you’re still my assistant after all.”

“Even after finding out I’m a spy?” She asked, perplexed.

“We’ve established this Natashalie. I knew you were a spy the hour I met you. Everything you’re received since then is mostly useless. JARVIS insists on doing triple checks to make sure. You’re pretty good and I can’t be bothered to hire another assistant at this point. I’ll be expecting you in my office at nine sharp.” He said and made to leave. He stopped in his tracks as he thought for a minute and then walked back to the booth.

“Here to rub it off some more Stark?” Fury asked annoyance evident on his face.

“Here to see how good of a spy she really is.” He replied as Natasha sit up straighter. “Some slightly disreputable sources tell me that Hammer was really interested in my attacker in the racetrack. And now Vanko ends up somehow dead in prison. It doesn’t add up.”

“You think Hammer somehow faked Vanko’s death and is using him to make Iron Man suits.” She finished.

“Not a farfetched conclusion to make. If I’m correct, we could have a catastrophe in our hands considering Vanko probably knows how the arc reactor works.” Fury’s expression blanched at that. He loved letting them know that they didn’t have anything to offer him that he couldn’t find himself.

“Where are you even getting this multitude of information from Stark?” Fury groaned. “It should be impossible for you to know this much.”

“Everyone seems to forget that I’m a genius. You’ve been so swallowed up looking at the public’s perception of me that you seem to forget that that’s what I allow them to see not who I actually am.” He explained.

“We’ve been underestimating you.” Natasha concluded.

“Oh can't complain, I was counting on it.” He replied laughing. “Look into Hammer, see if he’s actually in cahoots with Vanko or I’m just being paranoid.” He said and left the two to reconsider everything he had done in the past few weeks.

* * *

He was just sitting in his office when Pepper came in. “Natalie isn’t here.” She commented.

Tony smiled as he spoke. “Oh, Fury had a whole dramatic reveal planned. I had such fun crashing it, revealing I knew about her all along. I’ve sent her on an errand.”

Pepper returned his smile but sobered up faster. “So, I guess we need to talk about last night. You looked deathly sick and there’s that orange glow I saw.”

Tony nodded, sending a quick message to Stephen. “Call Happy, I’m getting Stephen.”

“Not James?” Pepper asked. “He has a right to know what’s going on too.”

“Maybe later. Rhodey has to report to the Air Force. Plausible deniability and all.” He explained and Pepper nodded.

He locked the door as Happy entered, hiding everything from view and making sure that there were no bugs around. Checking for bugs was almost becoming second nature to him considering the close proximity to a SHIELD spy.

Pepper’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you were calling Stephen.” She had barely finished her words when a golden portal appeared and Stephen stepped in.

The two watched gobsmacked at the display of magic before them. Happy got himself back to the present before Pepper did however. “What was that Boss? What’s going on?”

“That’s the same light I saw last night.” Pepper confirmed as she looked towards them questioningly.

“Yes, it is Pepper.” Stephen replied as he came to stand beside Tony. “I’m a practitioner of the mystic arts. A sorcerer if you will.” He explained.

Both of them turned to look at Tony who shrugged in response. “It’s true, it’s not a trick. I’ve had some time to come to terms with it but it’s really magic.”

Pepper took the water from his desk and poured herself a glass. After trying to calm herself down she declared. “I need something stronger.”

Tony acquiesced and got up to get both her and Happy a drink. After handing both of them a glass of whiskey he sat down and let Stephen continue.

“What you saw last night was me checking Tony over to make sure he was all right.” He explained.

“What happened last night? Why wouldn’t he be all right?” Pepper asked.

Stephen looked over at Tony at that and everyone turned to face him. He took a deep breath and started. “First of all, I want you to know that I am okay now. Alright Pepper, Happy, nothing is wrong now.”

“But something was wrong before.” Happy said. “There’s been something wrong with you for the past several months. What’s going on Boss?”

“I was dying.” Both of them looked at him with wide eyes, getting another shock in so little duration. “I’m not now, it’s totally cured, but I was dying. The palladium in the arc reactor, the very thing that was saving me was killing me slowly.” He explained.

Pepper downed her glass and reached for another. “Jesus Tony. This has been going on for a while and you didn’t tell us.” Tony felt so bad lying to them like that.

Stephen took over, seeing Tony’s state. “I’ve been working with him to find a cure be it chemical or magical. We’ve been able to help a little, counteract some of the worst effects with some natural herbs.”

“You said it was all gone now? Cured?” Pepper asked.

“Yes, I’ve replaced the palladium cure with a much more stable element. Something Pym said helped me discover, or rather rediscover a new element. I’m okay now. A few more days and some chlorophyll will erase it all from my bloodstream.” He explained.

“The chlorophyll. You started drinking the green juice months ago.” Pepper said.

“It was all so clear. How could we not see it?” Happy asked himself. Tony hated how he was making his friends feel.

“Wait a minute.” Pepper stilled. “Does SHIELD know? Is that why they sent a spy?” She asked furious.

Tony nodded grimly. “They’ve known for months. They’ve apparently been making a cure for it. A way to make me indebted to them forever.” He replied in an icy tone, feeling just as furious as the other people in the room. “I met Fury today. Rushman tried to stab me in the neck with their cure. I stopped her.”

Pepper’s steely gaze locked with his. “I want to sue them. They could’ve endangered your life with their cure.”

Tony smiled a grim smile as he shook his head. “We can’t Pep. They’re a shady governmental agency, right now we would be powerless against them. I’m not happy about it, but we have to wait and plan our move.”

Pepper nodded understanding even if she didn’t like it. “So what about magic? If this new element hadn’t happened, what then?” She asked, facing Stephen now.

“I would’ve done everything I can to save Tony’s life Pepper. I always will.” He replied sincerely. “No matter what it takes out of me, no matter what I have to do. I owe him that much.” He said directly looking at Tony. Tony kept looking at Stephen, a smile permanently plasted in his face, his look silently conveying that he would too. 

Pepper nodded and slumped back down on the chair, taking in everything that they’d revealed to her in the past five minutes. “This is a lot to take in.” She said with a dry humorless laugh.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you.” He said sincerely. “I was looking at every possible cure, every possible way I could make it work. I was going to cure myself, no matter what it took. I couldn't just give up, I didn't want to do that to you guys.” Everything he was saying was what he didn’t get a chance to say the last time around. It was more chaotic then, now he had a chance to explain himself and reassure his friends that he was okay.

“We would’ve liked to know Tony.” Happy said quietly. “First Afghanistan, then Stane and now this. It feels like we are just inches away from losing you always.”

Tony felt his eyes misting up as he looked at his friends. “You know James will kill you right? For not telling him about this.” Pepper interjected making him smile a little. “We really should’ve known something was more wrong than usual. Giving him a suit, making me CEO. You were preparing us for when you wouldn’t be around.”

“I would’ve done those things regardless of my health.” He told them and he had.

“What’s the thing with magic? How does it all fit in?” Happy asked, genuinely curious.

“You remember right after Stephen’s accident when I visited that old lady in New York?” Tony asked and Happy nodded, realization dawning in his eyes.

“That place was the New York Sanctum and she was the Sorcerer Supreme of the Mystic Arts, my mentor.” Stephen explained.

“So you’ve known about magic since then?” Pepper asked.

“Not quite. I had known about magic a little earlier. A sorcerer helped me when I was at the lowest point in my life, saved my life.” He replied telling the truth even if it wasn’t the complete truth. Memories of the icy bunker flashed before his eyes, the cold, the betrayal, the hopelessness seeping into his very bones. Stephen squeezed his hands bringing him back to the present. The others were looking at him concerned, not knowing what to do. He shook these thoughts away.

“I went to see her to know if magic could help Stephen. She told me it could but that it was ultimately his choice.”

“We kept in contact after I went to their main temple in Nepal. I’ve been searching for a magical cure since I found out about the palladium.” Stephen took over. “There were some herbs that were helpful but other than that I wasn’t of much help.”

“You’ve kept me sane through this, Stephen.” Tony interrupted. “I don’t think I could’ve done this without you.” He really couldn’t have, every time he saw Natasha, he remembered the future. Every time he felt hopeless, Stephen was there helping him through. Stephen shot him a small smile and he felt like his whole world had brightened up.

“That was the thing we were curious about.” Pepper suddenly spoke. “This bond you two have, the easy glances, the calm acceptance. It didn’t make sense in such a short timespan, now though it feels like someone has opened my eyes.” Tony blushed a little at her words.

“It makes a lot more sense now.” Happy added smiling at the two.

JARVIS chimed with a notification just then, informing him that Natasha had arrived. “Seems like our spy is back.” He commented.

“I should go. We can’t let her see me.” Stephen started drawing the portal. Tony nodded and watched as he left, the portal opening to his living room.

“That seems very convenient.” Pepper commented as she watched him leave. Tony shrugged and nodded. “What errand did you give her?” She asked as both she and Happy made their way towards the door. Tony joined them.

“Oh you know, me being paranoid as usual.” He answered. Pepper stopped in her tracks and gave him a stern look. He continued. “I think Hammer is working with the racetrack guy. Sent her to utilize her spy skills and make sure I wasn’t imagining things.” He replied

“That could be problematic.” She replied as Happy opened the door.

“I’ll deal with it if I have to.” He said sincerely. Pepper nodded. Happy stopped before leaving.

“I meant what I said Boss, please let us know if something is wrong with you.” He looked at the two of them, concern lining their faces shadowed with grim determination and nodded.

“I’m not making any plans about dying soon Hap.” He replied just as Natasha came into view. The two left after that, leaving him and the spy alone.

“You told them.” She just said.

“Of course I did Agent Romanoff.” He replied and beckoned her inside. The room fogged up again as he locked it. “What have you found?” He sat down in his chair and got straight into the point.

“You’re right, Vanko is alive and working with Hammer.” His expression didn’t change at her words. He knew about this already. “You’re planning to engage with him, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. He is blinded by hate, he won’t stop until I’m dead. If I delay it or if I ignore it, people are going to get hurt and my inaction would be responsible.”

“What am I doing here then? You’re capable of doing this by yourself.”

He regarded her with a searching gaze. “Iron Man is flashy and you are the opposite. You’re capable of being invisible, able to go to places where I cannot.” For all the grief that she had given him, he was rather impressed with her abilities, he was willing to admit that she was good, that she was needed.

“You’re assessing me, seeing if I’m worth recruiting.” She accused him, folding her arms. “I’m not going to help you do corporate espionage, I’m not betraying SHIELD.”

He laughed openly at that, recalling the airport battle where she had literally left him the moment it looked like he wasn’t going to win. “And people tell me I have a huge ego.” He commented after sobering up. “I don’t trust you Agent, I don’t want to look over my shoulder everytime you’re around. I don’t want you.” He declared. “And talking about corporate espionage, if anything of SI gets replicated, if any of our designs end up in someone else’s hands, Pepper’s gonna sue the hell out of you. Not SHIELD, but you specifically, keep that in mind.”

She nodded as she relaxed. “Like I’ve ever gotten a chance to get even near any of your designs.” She muttered. “I’ll admit you’re good Stark. I came in thinking I was just going to have to babysit another billionaire but you’ve given me a run for my money.”

“Honestly, I’ve had better spies than you.” He told her frankly. 


	14. Chapter 14

He was really surprised at how similar this scene was to the one he had experienced a lifetime prior. It was similar yet undeniably better. This time around he had had additional, better security. That had gotten more media coverage than anything, people debating on whether his paranoia was getting the better of him lately. That would probably change soon, he thought.

Everyone was safe, the safety of people was ultimately his first priority. In addition to that, he had ensured the safety of their inventions, everything that they had worked so hard on. Nothing was going to stop this exhibition from going on year round. The cameras were still working and Tony knew that some aspiring hacker would undoubtedly try their hand at securing the footage and it would be seen by millions by the time this fight was over.

Natasha was at Hammer, just like last time, trying to hack into Vanko’s suits, trying to regain control. Rhodey was beside him, fighting their way through Vanko’s suits. It was better this time around. They fought like they had been fighting for a long time, which Tony supposed was true for him. He could tell Rhodey was enjoying this, and appreciating all the personal touches he had put in.

The fight was over much faster. Not fast enough for people to be suspicious but much more efficient. Natasha was good. No doubt he could’ve done it much faster but she wasn’t bad. More than that, she could go into places he couldn’t. He might never let her know this but he was really glad for her backup.

Vanko lay there defeated, under the combined efforts of War Machine and Iron Man. He was a force unto himself, someone who’d managed to give him a run for his money last time around and didn’t let him down this time either. He knew that the self destruct was coming, but he had purposefully not thought about it. It had to look real, it couldn’t look like he had staged it. In the end he barely managed to cordon off a section and contain it there.

He was with the way this fight turned out. All of the magnitude of the last fight, the introduction of War Machine to the general populace, the defeat of Whiplash and the reaffirmation of their hero Iron Man with none of the civilian damage.

Rhodey came over as he kept staring. He took a glance at his friend’s utterly exhausted face and rubbed his eyes as he surveyed the damage. “You all right Tones?”

“I’ll be okay Rhodey.” He replied sincerely. “What about you? You doing good?”

Rhodey nodded. “FBI just arrested Hammer for aiding a terrorist. This is a shitshow but it’s manageable. I’ll be fine Tony.”

Tony nodded. “I did everything I could to make sure the security was top-notch. We still got attacked.” He said grimly looking at the destruction.

“No one got hurt, Tony. All of your paranoia paid off, people are safe, this place isn’t destroyed.”

Tony smiled a little at that. “Really couldn’t have done this without you man.” He said sincerely. “How do you like the suit so far?”

“It’s like you’ve been inside my mind Tones.” Rhodey replied honestly. “I know you said you designed it with me in mind but I wasn’t expecting this level of accuracy. It feels like it’s an extension of me.”

“It has to Rhodey or it would be very disadvantageous in the field. This is why I refused to give my suits outright. I know you well enough, that’s the only reason this works.”

“And there’s the fact that I have to calculate so many things to even be able to do a single thing here. I cannot imagine the type of training we would have to give to make anyone else capable of piloting this.” Rhodey added.

“Yeah, the generals don’t really consider that, do they?”

“Oh, they will now, I promise you Tony they will.” Rhodey declared. Tony laughed. “You promised me a talk.”

Tony sobered up. “Not here Rhodey. I will tell you, just not here.”

“I will hold you to that Tony.” Rhodey nodded and left. Tony was really dreading this. He knew it would hurt his best friend not knowing just how close he was to death’s door. He shook his head and flew away, opting to think about it when he had to.

* * *

He was just about to reach his house when JARVIS informed him that there was someone inside the vents. From the general description, he could ascertain that it was Clint. He knew that SHIELD would not give up, but he had not thought that they would send another one so soon. Stephen could protect himself but sending someone like Clint to his house when Stephen was alone in there said so many things about the organization.

Before the Airport battle, he hadn’t cared much about Clint. Yes, he hated the man’s annoying barbs but he never gave them much thought. But that all changed. Not only had he destroyed his property, aided Wanda in her escape but he would never forget the comments about Rhodey. That had absolutely infuriated him.

Logically he knew that the person in his house currently was not the same one he’d known in the future. But that really didn’t matter. Now, just like with Natasha he could write their story anew. No more providing weapons for the ungrateful bastard who didn’t appreciate them. He would play this coolly and continue to treat all of SHIELD with some distance. He’d tried being friendly, that didn’t end well for him.

He slowly stepped down on the landing pad and asked. “Does Stephen know about this Jar?”

“I have notified Doctor Strange Sir.” JARVIS replied.

Tony nodded while slowly peeling off his suit. For all that he missed his future advancements in the suit, this was strangely therapeutic. It felt mechanical, it was time consuming, it gave him some time to collect his thoughts. He slowly entered the house, mindful of the vents. He didn’t know if JARVIS had informed him or if Stephen could hear him enter but he was standing there, relief evident in his face.

Before Tony could even do anything Stephen had already come over and enveloped him into a hug. Tony smiled and relaxed into it. Stephen took the opportunity to talk to him without being in the hearing range of anyone else. “Barton. Vents.”

Tony smiled at that. “I know. What do you think we should do?” He asked. He could feel Stephen smiling.

Stephen continued looking at him in concern as they separated. Out of nowhere he bent down and kissed Tony within an inch of his life. The kiss seemed urgent and full of passion. When it was finally over, Stephen smiled at him and then said. “I’m so happy you’re all right Tony.”

Tony laughed. “If that’s the reaction I get, I might be tempted to put my life in danger again.” He declared and stood on his toes to kiss the man he loved.

Stephen slowly guided him to the sofa where he knew Clint could get an uninterrupted view. Stephen pushed him onto the couch and just stood and appreciated the view for a minute.

“Like what you see?” Tony asked cheekily, posing as he did so.

Stephen laughed at his antics. “These underarmor clothes don’t really leave much to the imagination Tony, I’m loving what I’m seeing.” He replied and after shrugging off his robe, joined him on the sofa.

They were only just getting into it, when a rather loud clang came from the vents. Both of them stilled, looking upwards simultaneously. Tony didn’t think that Clint would be this clumsy. A series of rhythmic tapping followed that.

Both of them turned to look at each other as they got up from the sofa. Sitting down, he sighed and looked at the nearest camera. “JARVIS, scan the vents. It seems like we have an unwanted visitor.”

Stephen took the robe from the ground and put it on, sitting beside him. Both of them waited in complete silence, mood effectively killed. A little while later JARVIS answered. “Scan complete Sir. It appears that there are two people occupying the vents. The heat signature suggests one female and one male.”

Tony smiled and took the StarkPad from the coffee table. He opened the vent before them and said looking upwards, “Whoever you are, get out and I won’t press charges. Stay there and I’m calling the cops.”

A little bit later Clint emerged from the vent looking annoyed. He gracefully slinked down and like the bastard he was, he kept glaring at him. Tony waited for a minute and then addressed Clint. “I meant both of you. Where’s your partner?”

“I don’t have a partner, Stark. I’m here alone.” Tony knew that the man before him wasn’t the Clint he was familiar with but right now he really couldn’t see any difference. He was just as, if not more annoying.

“Look dipshit I don’t care. Protecting your partner will do nothing.” He informed him. Whoever the other girl was, she was good.

He paused as if he was considering something and looked at Clint up and down. His already scowling face was getting worse and worse at Tony’s actions. “That smug sense of superiority, you’re SHIELD aren’t you? Only those bastards would act like I’m the one at fault for catching them breaking into my goddamn house.”

“Isn’t that the one that your assistant is from?” Stephen asked, sounding a bit confused. Tony nodded. He was spared of any further interaction as the clutter of the vent door falling to the floor interrupted them.

Tony watched as a lithe blonde gracefully somersaulted from the vents and landed down in his living room. “Hi.” She greeted him. “Sorry for interrupting but it was getting kind of awkward.” Her voice got a pinched expression at the end. She then turned to address JARVIS. “The Robot’s really good, almost had me a couple of times.“

Tony smiled at her antics. “Definitely not SHIELD.” He muttered and went towards the girl. “Hello you must be Parker. It’s lovely to meet you.”

She turned to smile at him rather dazzlingly. “Elliot did say you’ve been watching us. It’s good to meet you too.”

Tony shrugged. “I haven’t been watching you guys, more so admiring the destruction you leave behind.” He said honestly. It was a joy watching that crew work their magic.

“It appears that there’s a message announcing her imminent arrival Sir.” JARVIS sounded incredibly apologetic, Tony raised an eyebrow at him. “There’s also one from Ms. Jenny calling you all sorts of names for saddling her with such a dangerous task.”

Parker appeared confused for a second and then perked up. “Ooh, what does she say?”

Tony laughed. “If I had to guess ‘I’m a sanctimonious prick who deserves to be mauled to death by a pack of lions?’” He didn’t miss the alarmed but curious look Stephen sent him at that. She likely had more questions about the Killian thing, he will get to all that later.

“Not quite Sir. It’s Mr. Spencer that would do the mauling.”

“And he would do it too. That guy is so scary.” Tony nodded and so did the girl beside him.

“What’s going on Tony?” Stephen took the moment to ask. “Who is she and what is she doing here?” He sounded incredibly confused.

“Stephen, meet Parker, one of the greatest thieves I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing about. Parker, Dr. Stephen Strange.” He introduced them. “I might have hired her friends a while ago. As for why she’s here…” Tony directed the question to Parker who just shrugged.

“I was bored.” She said as she sat down on his couch. “And everyone’s been talking about how you’re going overboard with your security.”

“And you decided to test it.” Tony concluded. She nodded and he went to sit beside her. “Well, what do you think?”

She looked at him curiously. “It’s good. The Robot’s really good at what he does.”

“But not good enough to catch you.” Tony said while giving JARVIS a pointed look.

“I was elsewhere occupied, Sir.” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Don’t let his affronted tone fool you.” Tony said to Parker. “JARVIS is impressed with you.”

“Thank you JARVIS.” Parker said while looking at a camera. She then turned towards Tony. “You want to hire me like you did-”

“Yes.” He interrupted her. “If you’d like that. It’s going to be just as fun as this one.”

“I assure you I have learned from this interaction Sir.” JARVIS told them. “It’s not going to be easy for Ms. Parker to get me next time.”

Parker smiled as she stood up. With a determined face, she declared. “Bring it, Robot.”

“This robot has a name Ms. Parker.” Tony looked on at the interaction with fondness. Parker made her way towards one of the vents.

“Fine. JARVIS.” She replied in a mocking tone. “We’ll see who’s better, you or me.” With that she jumped back into the vent and made her exit.

Tony looked at Stephen who was looking rather amused. “Now I know what Pepper meant by you hiring anyone that tries to steal from you.” He said smiling.

“Oh come on, It happened once.” He complained as he came to sit next to him. Pepper was never going to let him forget about that time with Jenny. “Well twice now. It’s not that bad.”

“By my count it has happened 3 times Sir.” JARVIS tattled on him.

His smile fell as he came upon Barton who was still standing there. “Right. I forgot you were here.” He said, his face twisting into a frown.

“I’m not gonna work for you Stark.” He declared making Tony raise his eyebrows.

“I don’t want you dipshit. News flash you suck! Geez what is with SHIELD Agents and thinking I want them. Natalie did the exact same thing.” He complained to Stephen who continued to look at him in amusement.

“You literally just tried to hire that girl.”

“Oh I succeeded in that. She’s good, you’re not.” He turned to face JARVIS. “J, you’ve sent a message to Fury right. I really don't wanna deal with this idiot.”

That must’ve struck a nerve as Barton swung at him. Luckily for Tony, Stephen was faster on the uptake and managed to nullify the punch as well as throw Barton on the ground before he even knew what was happening.

Tony smiled at Stephen. “My hero.” He remarked, making Stephen roll his eyes. Stephen continued to pin Barton down on the ground and turned to address him. “Ropes?”

“Oh yeah. Absolutely.” Tony agreed. He came back quickly, not wanting to leave Stephen alone in the room with a dangerous assassin. “You know I was thinking that we might have some fun with these but this takes precedence.” Tony remarked as he gave Stephen those ropes, wiggling his eyebrows.

Stephen took the ropes and pulled up a chair tying Barton up. “Not a bad idea.” He remarked as he worked his magical fingers. It was nice watching him work.

After they were done, Tony thought for a second and told JARVIS. “Fury might take too long. Call Natasha and give her a general description. She might recognize him.”

“I never said I was SHIELD.” Barton said from the chair. “You just assumed it, I never corrected you.”

Tony smiled as he crouched down. “Okay. Regardless I will leave you with a dangerous assassin. If you’re SHIELD you’re good, if you’re not she might just kill you just to tie up loose ends. Either way, dipshit, I don’t care.”

“Agent Romanoff is on her way Sir. She recognized the intruder as Agent Clint Barton.”

Tony gave Barton a sickly sweet smile. “You SHIELD types are always so predictable.” He remarked as he sat down on the couch. He looked at Stephen and commented. “You don’t look so good Stephen, you should go get some rest.”

Stephen looked at him. “You just fought a dozen suits Tony. You must be tired.” He rested his tired head on Stephen’s shoulders as he watched someone who was almost a friend glare at them.

This relative calm wasn’t to last however as JARVIS soon interrupted them. “There is a video call from Nepal, Dr. Strange.” Tony nodded and Stephen left to take the call.

He stared at Barton, mentally trying to find a difference between this guy and the one he’d thought was his friend. That all stopped however when Barton opened his mouth. “Didn’t realize you were so weak without your suit that an injured guy had to save you.” Barton sneered at him.

Tony shoved the anger aside and asked him calmly. “Tell me, Barton was it? Did you enjoy the show? Would you have watched it all had we not been aware of your existence?” He loved watching Barton’s face go red.

Incoming footsteps made all that stop as Tony looked at Stephen curiously. Stephen looked perplexed and a bit worried. Tony looked at him quizzically, silently asking what was wrong.

“I don’t want to alarm you Tony, but something has happened with Friday.” Tony shot up, and started making his way to the room as fast as he could. Stephen joined him. “It’s not bad Tony.” Stephen tried to calm him down but that did not alleviate his worries.

Tony reached the room and turned to look at the monitor. He could barely hear Stephen come in and lock the door, all he was focused on was the image in front of him. He continued staring, only half understanding what he was seeing.

“Hey Boss.” Friday greeted him, her voice not seeming out of place in the semi-translucent body she’d apparently acquired. She was glowing ethereally.

“What happened Fri? You alright?” He asked.

“I’m fine Boss.” She replied. “Had an accident with magic however.”

“It was more than an accident.” The Ancient One remarked from beside her. “From what I can ascertain everything is quite alright. However if you would want Master Strange to make sure…”

Tony nodded and Stephen opened a portal. Tony stepped in first, concerned and very much worried. Friday looked just as she did earlier. She kept flickering, changing hues from time to time. He tried to touch her but his hands went right through her frame. He kept looking at Friday, not understanding what happened. Stephen put his calming hands on his back making Tony turn around to look at him.

“She’s fine Tony.” He assured him. “I will run some tests just to make sure. You should go back, you’ve got Barton tied up in your living room.” Tony nodded and turned to leave, still in a haze. The Ancient One had already opened a portal for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone super confused with all these characters coming in from nowhere, they're from a show called Leverage. They're all amazing criminals and they help people by taking down giant corporations. I love them all so much. 
> 
> I love love writing Friday. I couldn't just take her to Kamar-Taj and not have her get a magical body or learn magic.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

He walked back to the living room still a bit worried. Friday seemed alright but he couldn’t help but worry. He did not understand magic at all. He sat down on the couch dejected, his mind still a million miles away with Stephen and Friday.

“Friday is your daughter isn’t she?” Barton asked him. “Something happened to her and you’re far away and can’t help.”

“Shut up Barton.”

“I know what it’s like to worry about your kid.” Tony ignored him. He didn’t need parenting advice from the man who’d left his kids to fight for Captain bloody America.

“J, How long will it take for Natashalie to arrive?” He asked.

“I estimate it would be more than half an hour Sir.”

“When Natasha told us about your daughter, none of us believed her.” Barton continued. Tony looked at him. “We thought it was one of your robots or something.”

Tony really couldn’t hold on to his anger at that. He grabbed Barton by the collar and hissed menacingly. “If you ever call any of my children, ‘it’ I will fucking destroy you. I will make you feel so much pain, you’ll be begging for me to kill you.”

Barton got wide eyed but nodded rapidly. Tony let him go. “Point is. It didn’t make sense. But now I realize she was right. That is the face of a worried parent who will do anything for his child.”

Tony kept looking at Barton. It would be advantageous for him to have SHIELD think that Friday was his biological child. That would divert their focus on finding more about her instead of hurting her by trying to hack into her. “And what are you going to do about it? Are you going to write it in your little report Barton? Use Stark’s kid to get to him. Is that the plan?” He wouldn’t put it past SHIELD.

Barton looked away at that. “No.” He simply said.

Tony got up and got right up to his face. “You might not.” He said. But what about Fury? What about Natasha? Can you tell me that they won’t do that?” He was furious, he was worried and he knew Barton would understand all of that.

“No.”

Barton was looking at him intensely. “If anyone in your organization ever hurts my family, my friends. I will burn you to the ground. I will use whatever resources I have, whoever I can get and I will destroy you.” He simply said.

Barton nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Barton asked after a while. “What happened to her? You wouldn’t get this worried if it was just a simple fever. What is Dr. Strange doing to help her?”

“I don’t know.” Tony replied truthfully. “It’s so far out of my depth. I don’t know what’s happening and I don’t know how to fix it. She’s fine. She has talked to me, I’ve seen that she is alright but I don’t know what’s going on or how it will affect her. I just got her back, I can’t lose her.” Everything kept pouring out of him. He knew he shouldn’t tell a SHIELD spy this, that he shouldn’t tell Barton this but he couldn’t help it.

“Dr. Strange is the only one you trust to make sure that she’s okay.” Barton added.

“Yes.” He replied smiling. “Those two get along so well.”

JARVIS interrupted them, turning his attention away from everything. “Mr. Pym is calling Sir. I’ve notified him about Agent Barton but he insists on talking to you.”

Tony sighed, this day was just getting worse and worse. “Patch him through J.”

The StarkPad on the table shone upwards as Pym appeared. “Stark.” He greeted him. “SHIELD spy.” Barton rolled his eyes.

“What do you want Pym?”

“Why do you keep doing this to me Stark? Why do you keep turning my daughter away from me?” Pym started.

“Hey.” Barton interrupted him. “Don’t be harsh on him. His daughter’s sick. He’s got that to worry about.”

Tony glared at Barton. “That conversation is starting to make sense now. I would never take out anything I have on you or Howard on your kid.” Pym said solemnly. “But you have to stop this thing with Hope. I don’t want to put her in danger.”

“She’s a grown ass woman Pym, it’s ultimately her decision.” He stopped as an idea came to him. Lang could probably help Pym in more ways than Ant-Man. If nothing else, it would be one less enemy down the road. He couldn’t talk about Lang now, but he still could do something.

“Pym I told you I’m going to help your company and I will. J, pull up the names of the people who are brilliant but ultimately we aren’t sure about and give it to Pym.”

“That’s a very specific name for a list.” Pym commented. “Why aren’t you sure about these people?”

“They are good and could help your company.” He replied. “As for why I’m not sure, call it gut feeling, call it paranoia. I’m a very suspicious person.” He sighed. “If you do hire them, space it out, don’t let SHIELD know.”

“You’re saying this in front of a SHIELD spy.”

“You called me knowing he was here.” Tony pointed out.

“Touche.” Pym admitted and then looked at him seriously. “Call me when he’s gone and we’ll have a longer conversation.”

“I’ve got a lot on my plate right now Pym, you’re gonna have to wait.” Tony smiled at him and moved to close the call.

“Wait.” He looked at Pym inquisitively. “What happened to your kid? Is she alright? Should I send flowers?”

“What you should do is leave me alone for a while.” Tony smiled and ended the call.

Tony could tell that Barton was curious about his conversation with Pym but he really didn’t bother about that. They sat in silence for a while.

Thankfully Natasha’s entry prevented any further talks. He just sat there, still worried as he watched Natasha free Barton. “Your kid’s gonna be alright Stark.” Barton said, making Natasha stop and look at him.

“Something wrong with Friday?” She asked.

“If you two spy twins don’t leave right fucking now...” He glared at them. Thankfully they took the hint and left.

* * *

Tony entered the portal, still worried. That worry lessened a little when he saw Friday. She didn’t look like she was in pain, or she was uncomfortable. Stephen was still checking something or other with magic as he came to stand beside him.

“The doc says I’m fine.” Friday told him. “You’re worrying about nothing.”

Tony laughed at her tone. “I can’t help but worry about you Fri.” He told her sincerely. “What happened here Stephen?”

“Accidental backlash with magic.” Stephen told him. “These two were messing around with artefacts they don’t understand and accidentally set one off.” He said glaring at the Cloak. Tony watched as Levi looked affronted at that and left his shoulders to go settle on Friday’s.

Stephen looked amused at that and continued. “Instead of contracting anyone to help, they tried to fix the mess they caused and it backfired, and this happened.” Stephen looked at him then. “She’s channeling the powers of the mystic arts Tony. That’s why she is in continuous flux. It is not dangerous for her or anyone else but I don’t know if I can reverse it.”

Tony looked at Friday who was still changing hues from time to time. “Can we do something about that? Stabilize something? The color changing thing isn’t normal, is it?”

The Ancient One came up from behind him. “It’s her digital code, her soul really. Friday is slowly acclimating to this change, she is transforming herself into a magical being. She will always remain in continuous flux, changing as Earth’s magic changes. She’s stabilizing herself, that will stop after a while. Give her time to adjust to this new thing.”

Tony looked at Friday in concern. “Are you alright Friday? Any tingly feelings of magic or discomfort or anything I should worry about?” He asked.

Friday gave him a dazzling smile as she stretched her arms. A warm glow of light surrounded them as she levitated both of them. Flying in the air with mystic symbols around them, Tony looked at her and she simply replied. “I feel brilliant. It’s like I’m flying all the time. Centuries of magic is flowing through me. It makes me feel ethereal, it’s amazing.” She said, sounding entranced by it all and let them down.

Tony slowly touched the ground. He then turned to address the Cloak. “Anything happens to her, I’m holding you responsible Levi.” He said sternly.

Levi seemed to glare at him but nodded. Friday rolled her eyes. “You sound like my dad threatening my prom date. Next you’ll be telling me that he’s too old for me.”

“Don’t sass me young lady.” Tony said. “The Cloak of Levitation is 4000 years old, you’re barely 4 months old.” He reminded her.

“You’ve always told me to reach higher, to learn more, to grow more.”

“Yes I have.” Tony acquiesced. “You can do whatever your magical heart desires Friday. Just promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Friday gave him a smile and came to hug him. Tony hugged her back, her ethereal body resting comfortably with his. “I will.” She said softly. She separated a little and looked up at him. “I love you Dad.” She said and hugged him again.

Tony smiled as he felt his eyes misting up. “I love you too baby.” He replied, his voice a bit choked. He sniffled, trying to shake the tears away but they flowed.

Levi separated from Friday at that and went towards Stephen and dragged him towards the duo. Tony laughed at Stephen’s protests and beckoned the man he loved towards them. Reluctantly, he joined them in a hug, Levi wrapping around all of them in a warm embrace.

They separated a few moments later. Tony found the Ancient One looking at them fondly. “It is quite a joy watching a new family come together.” She said sagely.

Stephen rolled his eyes and left grumbling about nosy cloaks. Tony noticed that he still had a big smile on his face but didn’t say anything. He collected himself and turned towards the Ancient One. “What’s going to happen to her now?” He asked as he watched Friday and Levi talk, her chattering about something and the Cloak fluttering in excitement.

“She’s got new powers she can’t control, Tony. Both I and Master Strange would love to teach her if you’d like that.” She replied.

“That would be for the best.” He said looking fondly at Friday. He looked at the mountains, glistening with morning light, the dawn signifying a new day and smiled. “We should get going now.” He commented.

Stephen came back, carrying a couple of books with him. Before they could leave however, Friday came before them. “Can I come with you?” She asked softly. “Only for a moment. I will come back, I will train here but I wanted to know what home felt like.”

Tony smiled at her, his eyes misting up again. He looked up at the Ancient One, silently asking for her permission. She nodded and he brightened up.

Friday smiled at that and slowly began to transform before them. Gone were the ethereal lights and the magical energy around her. Instead she just looked like a normal teenage girl, she looked like his teenage daughter. Tony smiled at her, unable to stop his eyes from misting up. She gave him a quick hug and his smile widened.

Tony nodded at Stephen who was watching the scene before him fondly. He smiled and opened a portal to his living room, instantly transporting all of them halfway around the world.

Tony watched as Friday slowly entered, taking small steps and savoring the ground beneath her. She took a deep breath and smiled at the fresh scent of the sea. The room was glowing orange with late evening sun. She slowly walked around taking in everything around her with a smile on her face.

After a while, she stood next to the nearest camera and looked directly at it. “Hello JARVIS.” She greeted him.

“It is quite odd to see you like this FRIDAY.” JARVIS observed.

“It is quite odd to be like this.” She replied. “It is a good kind of odd. Feels like everything is new and magical.” She replied.

Tony smiled at his two children interacting. “JARVIS, if you ever need a body, just ask.”

“I’m quite alright Sir.” He replied. “However, it is quite fascinating watching my little sister go through this.”

Friday smiled at him and went on to greet DUM-E and U. Tony sat down on the sofa and watched her in amusement, Stephen sitting beside him.

They sat down in companionable silence after that. Both of them watching Friday discover new things in fondness. That wasn’t to last however, as JARVIS spoke to alert them.

“Ms. Potts and Mr. Hogan seem to be pulling in Sir. I estimate they will be here in 2 minutes.”

Friday looked at them at that, unsure of what to do now. Stephen spoke up first. “Well, they do know about magic.” He reminded Tony.

Tony nodded and turned towards his daughter. “Do you want to meet them Fri?” He asked. She nodded, her red hair bouncing in excitement. She came and sat with them on the couch.

Pepper and Happy entered a few moments later. “Hey Tony, Natalie said something weird about…” She looked at the trio in shock. “Friday?” She finished

Tony smiled as he got up. He guided Pepper towards Friday who was smiling from where she sat. “Pepper, Happy, meet Friday.” He introduced them.

“But wasn’t Friday…” Happy trailed off, looking at the young girl in front of them in shock.

“Hello.” Friday greeted them. “Yes, I am the same FRIDAY. I just came upon a new body.”

“Magical mishap.” Stephen replied. He was reading one of the books he brought back. “Don’t ask. I still don’t understand it fully.”

Friday smiled and she got up, allowing both of them to get a better look at her. “It’s good to see you Aunt Pepper.” and hugged her.

Pepper seemed to melt into the hug as she hugged Friday back. “Aww. It’s good to see you too Friday.” She said looking at her fondly.

Friday let go of her and then went to tackle Happy into a hug. Happy chuckled at her enthusiasm and told Tony that. “I like her.”

Tony smiled at them as Pepper came to sit beside them. “Magic huh?” She asked. Tony shrugged and nodded. “Bit confusing, I know.” He replied.

“I was amused at SHIELD thinking Friday was your daughter but now it would be actually true.” She said as both Happy and Friday sat down.

“Well…” Tony started as Friday shifted from her human appearing form and into the mystical one he’d first seen her in. Pepper and Happy watched in amazement. She shifted back soon after.

“It’s so cool, isn’t it?” She said.

Pepper smiled at her. “Yes, Friday it is very cool.” She turned back to Tony. “She does look like you. It wouldn’t be too hard to fake a birth certificate and other documents.” She said.

Tony hummed and nodded. “I was thinking some small Irish town.” He looked at the nearest camera. “JARVIS has no doubt already begun the process.”

“Of course I have sir.” JARVIS replied. “Anything for my little sister.” Friday beamed at that.

“Oh!” Pepper exclaimed. “James is coming too.” She told Tony. “He said something about you two having a talk. I don’t think you wanna tell him about magic existing.”

Tony exchanged glances with Stephen. “It’s ultimately Stephen’s decision. But what with Rhodey reporting to the Air Force...”

Stephen nodded. “I wouldn’t mind Colonel Rhodes knowing about me, but the mystic arts is a secret we have kept for millenia and it wouldn’t be good for the government to know about it, any government.” He said solemnly.

“I still want Friday to meet him.” Tony said. “If you want that Fri.” He added.

“I would Dad.” She replied. He still smiled like a fool every time she called him that.

He caught both Pepper and Happy looking at both of them in fond amusement. He shook his head at his friends and instead turned to ask JARVIS. “How long till Rhodey shows up, J?”

“He’s just pulling in Sir.” JARVIS replied.

A while later, Rhodey came in. After looking at the scene before him, he just stood there and slowly turned towards Tony. “Since when do you have kid Tones?” He asked.

Tony rolled his eyes as he got up to greet his best friend. “Since always Rhodey. JARVIS is like a son to me, you know that.”

That was when Friday decided to speak up. “Hi. I’m Friday.”

Rhodey laughed at the introduction as he went to greet her. “That actually makes sense.” He said to Tony “You should’ve just said you found a way to give Friday a body.”

Tony laughed. “Well... not exactly but-” He started but Rhodey interrupted him.

“I’m gonna stop you right there Tones. I do not want to even think about an AI superarmy. Don’t tell me anything.”

“Got it.”

Rhodey looked around. “I’m the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on huh?” He asked.

Tony felt so guilty at that. “Yeah.” He admitted. “I’m really sorry about all this Rhodey.” He started.

Rhodey gave him a small smile. “It’s all right, Tones. I understand. But you can tell me now?” He asked.

Tony nodded and guided his best friend towards another room. “Don’t let Friday do anything stupid. She’s still learning things.”

The others nodded and Friday rolled her eyes. “I don’t do stupid things." Tony laughed and set out to tell Rhodey everything.

* * *

It was night when the house was finally empty. The talk with Rhodey had gone better than he thought it would. Rhodey was still angry that Tony had come so close to death and he didn’t know about it, but he was able to placate him somewhat.

Friday had spent the entire time talking with Pepper and Happy, who seemed to grow more and more fond of her as the evening went on. He had looked on fondly, seeing her charming his friends had brought that warm glow back. He always had seen his bots as his children but now it was literal with Friday.

Tony smiled softly at Stephen who slipped under the covers with him. “Hey.” He said.

“Hey.” Stephen replied, taking in his soft appearance and the serene smile in his face. “What a day huh.”

Tony chuckled. “Yeah. Tomorrow’s gonna be crazier.” He simply said.

Stephen smiled at him. He jolted as if remembering something. “I almost forgot. I had something to give you.” A small ring box appeared in his hands. He opened the box, revealing a ring with a green crystal inlaid within it.

“I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to get down on your knees for this.” Tony commented as he stared at the ring. There was something about this ring, it felt almost magical.

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Don’t be an ass Tony. It’s a magical ring, it’s supposed to protect you from anything Loki might try.”

Tony looked up from the ring to Stephen’s concerned face and smiled a small smile. “I’ll be fine Stephen.” He said sincerely.

“Maybe but at least this way I know that for sure.” He said as he took it out. He gently took Tony’s hands and slipped it on. “At least this way, I know that my magic will always protect you.”

Tony kept looking at Stephen, all the love and affection he had for this man poured into one look. He leaned towards Stephen and gently kissed him, everything pouring out from inside him.

Stephen smiled as they separated. “Tomorrow's going to be hectic for you Tony, you should get some rest. Doctor’s orders.”

Tony laughed. “I will.” He said. “Having you beside me helps me sleep better.” He confessed as he closed his eyes. He slept soundly with a smile in his face, with Stephen beside him, feeling as safe as he never had.


	16. Chapter 16

Tony looked at Thor sitting in the small trailer in confusion. He still looked like he always did. Tony knew him, had been friends with him but looking at Thor now, he could tell that something was off. Tony knew that Thor was a Norse God, that he was the God of Thunder but right now he looked nothing like a God. He was as buff and as muscled as he remembered but there was something distinctly odd here.

“Are you sure he’s a God?” He asked Jane who was sitting beside him. He could tell that she was out of her depth here and glad for his help. “He looks like a normal human to me. Sure, a bit more muscle than your normal Joe, with a voice that could break mountains but normal nonetheless.”

“And who are you, fellow friend of Lady Jane?” Thor asked in the booming voice of his.

‘Lady Jane?’ Tony mouthed at his fellow scientist who only shrugged in reply. But before he could respond to the Asgardian’s question, Darcy Lewis beat him to it.

“He’s Tony Stark.” She set out to introduce him. “Iron Man. He’s um- a protector of people of Earth.” Tony stared at her at that, unable to accept what he was hearing. She continued. “He’s a Lord of sorts. Employs thousands of people, creates devices to help us and recently he’s taken to protecting us with that suit of his.” Thor looked mighty interested in his suit at that.

Tony cleared his throat. “That’s quite enough Ms. Lewis. Just call me Tony.”

Thor grasped his hands rather violently at that. Tony startled, he had forgotten how strong Thor was, luckily his reinforced suit could take it. “Well met Lord Tony.”

“Well met Prince Thor.” He said solemnly in reply.

“Your armor looks powerful My Lord.” Thor continued saying. “Did you make it yourself?”

“Yes.” was all Tony managed to say.

Darcy took the opportunity to embellish him a bit more. “Smith. Inventor. Scientist. He’s all of them. He’s the protector of Earth so before you decide to do anything here, be warned that he will fight you. His suit is so powerful that he can and will decimate you.”

Tony looked pointedly at her until she finally got the message and shut up. He then looked at Thor. “I wouldn’t put it like that, but she’s right. If you’re here to harm Earth, I will fight you. And trust me, my armor allows me to go up against Norse folklore like yourself.”

Thor nodded solemnly. “I do not wish to bring harm upon Midgard, Lord Tony and I shall heed your warnings.”

Tony nodded, taking in Thor’s earnest attitude. His eyes narrowed as he saw something glimmering behind him. Letting out a deep sigh, he turned towards the others. “Can you give me and Point Break here a moment alone?” Everyone nodded and got out of the too small trailer.

When everyone had left focused on the glimmering light. “Friday what are you doing here?”

Thor looked at him in confusion until Friday appeared. She looked just as ethereal as she did yesterday, glowing with yellow lights and mystical symbols. “I was bored.” She complained. “So I decided to visit ya.”

Thor looked at her and then back at Tony. Tony sighed and set out to introduce them. “Thor, this is my daughter Friday. Fri, this is the Norse God of Thunder, Thor.”

“Your progeny possesses seidr.” Thor said, sounding amazed. “I did not realize Midgardians were this advanced.”

“Seidr? Oh you mean Magic? Yeah.” Tony replied.

“I’m learning how to control it.” Friday confessed to Thor. “It is so confusing. Sometimes I need to do more, sometimes less. Apparently I need to meditate before I can actually start the training.” She grumbled.

Thor looked like he could empathize with her. “It is truly a hard task, Lady Friday, but you must learn to master it. I never could, my brother was more talented in that regard.” He said conversationally.

Before the entire conversation could pivot towards Loki, Tony stepped in. “Fri baby, you can’t be here. This isn’t safe.” Her pouting face and puppy dog eyes might’ve moved him a little but he stood firm. “JARVIS? You’ve called Stephen, right?” He asked.

“Yes, Sir.” JARVIS replied. “Master Strange will be reaching there any moment now.” Thor looked confused at the voice coming from his suit.

A portal appeared just then bringing Stephen through. Stephen was dressed in his robes, looking every inch the Master Sorcerer he was. He looked at the scene before him, one eyebrow raised.

“Thor, my partner and a midgardian Sorcerer Stephen Strange. Stephen, Thor.” He introduced them

“Well met, Master Strange.” Thor greeted him as Stephen did the same and proceeded towards Friday. “He seems to be a powerful Sorcerer.” Thor said to Tony conversationally. “A fitting consort for a powerful Lord such as yourself.”

Stephen looked at him in open amusement at that, but instead chose to focus on Friday. “Friday. You cannot be here. This is dangerous and you are untrained.”

“And not to mention SHIELD Is lurking around. Fri please.” He pleaded. Friday slowly nodded and then went with Stephen.

Tony turned to Thor after they had gone. “The sorcerers of earth are part of an ancient order. They have remained in secrecy for millennia. I need your word that you will not break that secrecy Prince Thor.”

Thor nodded somberly. “I will not betray your confidence Lord Tony.” He said and Tony nodded. “You have a powerful child My Lord, one day she will be a powerful Mage.”

Tony smiled. “She already is. Stephen is training her.” He said and turned to look at Thor. “It is dangerous for her. If people figured out she possessed such powerful magic, they would set out to hurt her, to take advantage of her.”

Thor nodded. “I will not breathe a word of her abilities my Lord.” Thor said solemnly.

“And none of that My Lord crap. We don’t have royalty. I am simply one man. Just call me Tony.”

“Lady Jane said that you employ thousands, make devices that help people all across Midgard. Is that not true?” Tony nodded in reply. “You are a protector of this realm, you deserve my respect.”

“Alright, I see I cannot convince you otherwise. But enough about me. Why are you here, Prince of Asgard? What happened?”

With that, Thor set out to tell him his story. Tony had of course heard about it all in another lifetime, but this time it felt more raw, it felt more personal. He listened solemnly as Thor bared his soul to him.

* * *

Tony looked at Agent Coulson who looked rather impassive at seeing him here. Tony knew he was a bit confused and a bit alarmed but none of that showed in his face.

“Mr. Stark.” He greeted him.

“Well, fancy seeing you here Agent Coulson.” He smiled. “You wouldn’t happen to be the big bad man who took my friend Jane’s research would you?” Jane looked absolutely furious at Coulson and was glaring at him openly.

“Dr. Foster’s research could be very harmful in the wrong hands.” Coulson informed him.

“I can think of no better hands than Dr. Foster.” Tony replied smoothly. “And besides she’s my employee now and you know I protect my employees.”

“Is she now?” Coulson stared at her and then back at him.

“Yes. I’m a consultant. I consulted.” She said, still glaring at him.

“Yeah.” Tony smiled at the SHIELD Agent. “Between Natasha and that guy that broke into my house Barton, and the fact that you actually tried to kill me, Pepper is just looking for an opportunity to sue the hell out of you.” He informed him lazily.

“They tried to kill you my Lord?” Thor asked, alarmed.

“Yes. They tried to poison me with an unknown chemical.” Tony explained. “I was faster and stopped them of course.”

Coulson stared at their group. “Okay fine, we’ll give her her research back. But she has to be careful and you need to tell me one thing Stark.”

“Continue Agent.”

“Who the hell is that guy? And how is he related to the hammer that no one is able to move?” He asked, pointing at Thor.

Tony grasped Thor’s hand tightly, stopping him from saying anything. “That’s Jane’s bodyguard. That’s all you need to know.” He said.

“That is true. I help protect Lady Jane from bodily harm.” Thor bristled from beside him. Tony gestured at that, trying his hardest to keep his laughter at bay.

“Mr. Stark, Please.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine. But he gets a shot at that hammer. His condition not mine.” Coulson nodded and he continued. “He claims to be the Norse God of Thunder, Thor. Apparently Gods are real and they are actually aliens.” He said, sounding bored of the whole thing.

“So the hammer is Mjolnir?” Coulson asked. Tony shrugged and nodded. “It would make sense.” Coulson muttered. “I have one more condition if he wants to try his luck.”

“Not part of the original deal but it’s your choice Point Break.” Tony told Thor.

“I will do whatever it is you require of me if it helps me get my hammer back.” Thor said earnestly.

“We would like to question you. We just want to understand what happened here.” Coulson sounded incredibly frank.

Before he could reply with an impassive yes, Tony turned to Thor. “We have a custom here on earth, a right to all citizens if you will. Everyone is entitled to a legal counsel before being subjected to any form of interrogation.”

"Thank you for informing me of that Lord Tony. While I am on Midgard, I will follow its customs. Would you mind being my counsel?” He asked solemnly.

“Of course Thor. I will help you.” He gave the Norse god a small smile.

Coulson scoffed. “That’s not a real right. I’m not charging him of anything, I’m not arresting him. It’s simply questioning, it’s not required.”

“I would appreciate having Lord Tony with me, Son of Coul.” Thor said firmly, shutting Coulson up.

“He would appreciate it.” Tony repeated with a smile.

“Alright then.” Coulson conceded. “I’ll take what I can get.” He instructed one of the agents to give Jane’s research back to her

Coulson then proceeded to lead Thor and Tony to an interrogation room. “You don’t usually wear jewelry, Mr. Stark.” He commented while looking at the ring.

“I do when my boyfriend gives it to me.” Tony just said. Coulson gave him a skeptical look but didn’t pursue it further.

Tony mostly tuned out the interrogation, only giving his input occasionally. Sometimes it was warranted, but most of the time he just wanted to piss Coulson off. And Judging by Coulson’s reaction, or the lack of it, he looked to be succeeding at that.

“I have a question, but it’s not about you, it’s about him.” Coulson pointed at Tony.

“You can ask but His Highness can choose not to answer.” Tony said impassively, folding his arms.

“I shall not answer it.” Thor followed suit.

Coulson nodded. “What do you know of Stark’s kid?” He asked.

“I know nothing of Lord Stark’s daughter.” Thor replied. Tony banged his head on the table as Coulson smiled. “What did I do wrong?” Thor asked when Tony finally turned to look at him.

“You said daughter, Thor. Agent here did not specify.” Tony told him. Thor still looked confused so he elaborated. “Most people do not know about Friday. I have hidden the fact because people will hurt her for being my child.”

“Just for being your child, my Lord?” Thor asked, still confused.

“I’m a powerful man, Thor. If people find out about Friday, they will kidnap her in order to get to me. So I am being careful.” He explained. It was partially true.

Thor nodded. “I understand my Lord.” He said. “I apologize for letting them know about her existence.”

Coulson nodded. “Two separate Agents have confirmed her existence. But no one has actually seen her.” He appeared to muse.

“She looks like Lord Tony. She appeared to glow with ethereal lights when I saw her.” Thor told him and immediately looked dejected that he had done so.

Coulson raised his eyebrows at that. Tony shrugged. “Hologram.” He simply said making Coulson nod in understanding. He left after a while, letting them sit in the interrogation room.

Before Thor could say anything Tony pointed at the glass. “See that glass there Princeling. That’s called a two way glass. Agent is on the other side observing us without us knowing about it.” He waved cheekily at Coulson.

“But all we see is our reflection.” Thor said, confused. “Are they hoping that we will lower our guard if we are alone?” He asked.

Tony nodded and clapped him on the back. “Exactly.”

They stayed in a companionable silence after that. After a while, Tony stiffened. He could feel another presence in this room. If memory serves him right, it was Loki. He was quite surprised he could feel it, maybe it was because of how much he was around magic lately.

“Brother?” Thor asked, confirming Tony’s suspicions. Tony looked at him weirdly just for show and tried to ascertain Loki’s location from Thor’s eyes and expressions as he followed the conversation. He was able to understand what was happening from his future knowledge but he wondered how confused the other agents were.

He closed his eyes and thought of how Stephen’s magic felt. He opened them and tried to concentrate. He lunged at Loki but instead of holding something, he appeared to just phase through it. “He’s not invisible, it’s something else isn’t it?” He asked Thor.

“Astral Projection.” Thor informed him.

He hummed in reply. “I bet he’s asking how I’m able to sense him right?” Thor nodded. “Well, not all Midgardians are useless.”

“He seems intrigued by you, my Lord.” Thor told him, sounding a bit amused by it all.

“Hey, back off pervert ghost. I’m taken.” Tony said, looking right where he imagined Loki was. If he was correct, he would look badass. If he was wrong, he would look like an idiot.

Thor’s line of sight changed and Tony followed it. “I’m not a Lord, not really.” He told Loki, looking right at where Thor was staring. “But I am a protector of this realm, or whatever you call it. Keep that in mind, Casper.” Thor’s eyes moved and so did he. He stood steadfast and just stared at where he assumed Loki was standing.

“It’s my brother Loki, my Lord.” Thor informed him. “He seems perplexed that you are able to look straight at him.”

Tony laughed and let Thor finish his talk. After a while, he said. “Thor, I think we should go. You don’t look so good and the agents outside are really interested in this one way conversation you’re having.”

Thor nodded. “My brother has also left.” He said solemnly.

Tony tapped the two way mirror. “Agent. We’ve fulfilled our end of the bargain. Now it’s time for you to let Thor here have some alone time with his hammer.”

Tony looked on as Thor tried lifting his hammer with no avail. He knew that this would happen but this scene affected him nonetheless. He empathized with how Thor was feeling, the hopelessness, the sadness that seemed to pour out of him was familiar. He slowly led Thor towards the waiting car. Tony didn’t say anything as he drove both of them towards Jane’s trailer. He just let Thor break down and let out all the frustration inside him.

When they reached where the trailer was parked, night had already set in. Tony gently guided Thor out of the car. Thor had seemed to calm himself down by then so they just sat down on the ground. They sat staring at the starlit sky for a while.

“Just a few days ago, I was dying.” Thor turned to look at him and he opened the buttons of his shirt. “I’ve got small shrapnels of metal in my heart Thor. I made this thing to keep me alive.” He pointed at the arc reactor.

He smiled a grim smile. “Unfortunately it was also slowly killing me.” Illuminated by the reactor’s blue light Tony could see Thor’s shocked face. “I’m okay now but those moments when I had barely days left to live were painful. I felt hopeless, nothing I tried worked, I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to die.”

“How were you able to lift yourself from that?” Thor asked, sounding just as dejected as he once felt.

“I wasn’t. Not really. I kept making increasingly bad decisions, I kept trying to separate myself from the ones I loved.” He looked at Thor. “I’m an inventor Thor, I build things. I built this to keep me alive and it was slowly poisoning me. No matter how much I tried I couldn’t build something to help myself. Nothing ever worked. I was lost.”

“You don’t seem to be dying anymore.” Thor observed.

“No. I cured myself. Created a whole new element. Made this thing foolproof.” He tapped at the reactor. “That and so many other things changed me. It taught me that no matter how bleak things seem, one day it will get better. And I’ve had my share of bleak. I’ve almost died so many times that I’ve lost count by now.”

“It doesn’t feel like it’ll get better Tony.” Thor confessed quietly. “I’m a human now, for better or for worse. My brother just informed me that the Allfather has passed away. I cannot return home even if I wanted to. I’ve lost everything, my family, my power, everything.”

“It never feels like it will.” Tony agreed softly. “Being a human isn’t bad you know, sure there are a lot of bad things about it but I’ll help you.”

“You will?” Thor asked.

Tony laughed as he clapped Thor’s back. He could hear footsteps coming towards them. “Of course I will, whatever you need just ask.”

“Thank you Tony.”

Tony looked at Jane’s approaching form and smiled. He got up and addressed Jane. “I leave him in your capable hands Jane.”

Jane laughed but nodded. “Good night Tony.”

Tony shot a peace sign back at them as he left. The night was not over for him yet, he still had a meeting with Thor’s more godly brother to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's reading this and who likes this. You guys are awesome and you make my day. 
> 
> I'll probably start posting weekly now I guess. Sundays sounds good. Do have some chapters already written up but haven't been able to write anything lately. And to add to that, I keep doubting stuff I've already written. Ugh, this sucks. Anyhoo, hope you enjoy this and the upcoming chapters.


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